


Maria's Adventures: New Status Quo

by CrossingTheFourthWall



Series: Maria's Adventures [12]
Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, continuation in a series, here we go dipping my toes into a crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-01-07 11:00:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 53,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12231477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossingTheFourthWall/pseuds/CrossingTheFourthWall
Summary: After learning of her brother's whereabouts, Maria has gone to his location in search of him to restore his memories. However, while this dimension holds old friends, it also holds new areas to navigate, and new dangers. Will Maria be able to find her brother and put a stop to whatever events decide to rise up in the process?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Woof. This story...heh. Well, it's been a couple months since I wrote it, but I've had it in my head for three years at least! Parts of it, anyway. Having a long series of fics can do that to you. At least I can finally get around to posting this one now -- I'm catching up with my OC, and it shouldn't be long before I catch up with my own ideas. It's only a matter of time....
> 
> Speaking of time, I gotta get to work posting all the stuff that I've written that comes after this one! It's all up on FF already, so I've been waiting for a chance to get it over here!

A blue, circular portal opened in a small forest clearing, and a figure stepped out into the open, looking around as the portal closed behind her. She tilted her head slightly, listening to the faint sound of honking horns that came in the distance.

The figure – who looked like she couldn’t have been any older than eighteen – closed one bright blue eye. “GPS calibration….puts me in Central Park in New York.” She opened her eye and nodded, then looked around the forest clearing again. “Far off the beaten path, and with no trouble in range. Must be a quiet day.”

“Whenever you show up, it’s hardly quiet for long, Flare-Up.”

Flare-Up turned sharply at the boyish voice, moving into a defensive stance just in case she needed to move at a moment’s notice.

A young man with hard eyes that made him appear older was standing a few feet behind Flare-Up at the edge of the clearing. He stood as tall as he could – which was a little taller than Flare-Up – and had his arms folded across his chest like he was used to looking intimidating, despite his somewhat-skinny appearance. There were muscles underneath his short-sleeve shirt, however.

Flare-Up frowned at him. “How do you know me?”

The young man inclined his head slightly. “You never saw me at this age?”

Flare-Up blinked. “No.” The gears were clearly turning in her head. “But that doesn’t narrow down my guesses.”

The young man paused, then seemed to pull something out of thin air – a bat-shaped piece of black metal, clearly made to be thrown. A moment later, it disappeared again as Flare-Up’s eyebrows rose up.

“You remembered,” she said, relaxing. She put her hands in the pockets of the orange jacket she was wearing, unzipped to show the plain red shirt underneath. “How?”

“I’m not certain.” The young man didn’t relax his stance.

“Have you told anyone?”

“No.” He paused. “There are others who remember.”

“Dr. Strange told me there was one,” Flare-Up said. “And where he happens to be. But I came here because of another reason. Matthew is here. He didn’t return home as I did after the Continuum Shift, and it’s likely he has not regained his memories himself. Strange said there was a chance he would, but I have to be nearby in order to trigger them. I’m planning on finding him.”

“Bruce, where are you?” called a voice somewhere outside the clearing.

Bruce turned and looked back. “Over here, Mom!” The youthful sound of a teenager was starkly different from the serious tone that he was using with Flare-Up. He turned and looked back at her. “I’ll meet you tonight. Do you have anything arranged for you to stay anywhere while you’re here?”

“I just got here; do you really expect me to have been able to call ahead and—“

Someone came through the trees – an adult male with graying hair and a build that suggested he might have worked out at one point but didn’t have much of a reason to any more. “Bruce, you really should be careful when you disappear like that. I know you know what you’re doing, but that doesn’t make your mother worry any less. Especially with the people that you might find in some places.” He looked over at Flare-Up and frowned. “And you are—“

“Maria Carlsdale, sir.” Maria coolly offered the man a hand to shake. “Just someone who’s visiting from out of state. I was enjoying the peace and quiet of this part of the park when Bruce found me.”

The man blinked, then took Maria’s offered hand in a firm handshake. “Thomas Wayne. Where are you from, Maria? And do you have any family nearby?”

“I’m here on my own,” Maria replied. “And I’m from Wisconsin. I just figured I could go out and have some time to think over my options before I start looking into colleges.” She shrugged.

The statement wasn’t a complete truth, but it was enough of one that Mr. Wayne bought it. Maria could see the flicker of something in Bruce’s eyes as Mr. Wayne nodded at her words, but she didn’t do anything to bring any attention to that.

“Did you just arrive here then, Maria?” Mr. Wayne asked.

“Only just, yeah.” Maria nodded. “I hailed a cab and came out here because I wanted to see what Central Park was like first. I haven’t looked into any places where I could stay yet, though. I’m sure there are hotels inexpensive enough for me to stay in for a week or so.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow at that. “Hotels, even inexpensive ones, can get to be pretty expensive. Especially if you’re planning on staying here for a week.”

“Well.” Maria shrugged. “I’ll just have to see what happens.”

Bruce and Mr. Wayne exchanged looks at Maria’s response. The raised eyebrow on the adult’s face made his teenager son shrug in response.

“…you sound like you came here without any experience and very little money to support yourself for a week,” Mr. Wayne said, looking over at Maria.

Maria shrugged, uncaring. “I’ve been able to handle myself before. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“Not with how these streets get at night,” Mr. Wayne said seriously.

Maria’s demeanor changed at the adult’s comment, raising her chin and adjusting her posture slightly. “Sir, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I can and will be able to handle myself, regardless of what people may throw at me. I know how to watch my own back.”

There was a coldness in her tone that made Mr. Wayne blink in surprise. He shook his head a moment later. “Young lady, I don’t know what it is that you’re capable of, but it might be better if you didn’t do anything of that sort.” His expression shifted to something kinder. “Why don’t you spend a few days with us? I’m sure that my wife would appreciate the company, and Bruce could use a friend – he doesn’t have many, even back in Gotham.”

“Dad, she’s not going to be my girlfriend,” Bruce said in a teenager-ish, rebellious tone that didn’t sound the least bit right coming from him.

“I wasn’t expecting it to go in that direction after only a few days.” Mr. Wayne’s eyes suggested otherwise. “There’s nothing wrong with helping a young woman such as Maria find herself in New York. Let’s go back to your mother. I’m sure she will agree with spending a few days with this fellow tourist.” He looked over at Maria with an expectant expression, and motioned for her to follow him back through the trees.

Maria frowned, weighing her options, then nodded and followed Mr. Wayne and Bruce back through the trees and towards a more open area of Central Park.

Bruce looked over at Maria with a dark expression, which she took in stride and raised an eyebrow at in response. When Bruce jerked his head towards his father as he moved ahead of them to a woman and another man a short distance from them, Maria shrugged in response.

“I wasn’t expecting him to do that,” Maria said.

“You have no plan as to where to stay,” Bruce argued.

“You know I can handle myself.”

“You don’t know the world you have come to. Tony Stark’s world has merged with ours.”

“I know that.”

“But you don’t know the consequences of that. Maybe staying with us will be wise – for now.”

Maria inclined her head at Bruce’s response, then nodded slightly. “Very well. You still intend to go out tonight.”

“If your addition to our outing here doesn’t change anything, yes.” Bruce’s eyes narrowed.

“Hello!” Bruce’s mother approached them with a bright smile and an eager expression. “You must be Maria – it’s good to see that Bruce is making friends already – and on his first day in New York!”

“Mom, you don’t need to act so embarrassing,” Bruce muttered.

Maria snorted at Bruce’s comment and smiled a little. “Well, it’s my first day here, too, and I’m looking forward to having a look around the place.”

Bruce shot her a look out of the corner of his eye, then sighed. “She’s inexperienced in what to expect in a city and it really shows. She doesn’t even have a hotel, and I don’t really think she brought any luggage with her.”

“Don’t need it,” Maria replied. She shrugged one shoulder. “I can take care of myself well enough.”

“Young lady, do you really expect yourself to be able to walk around New York for a week in the exact same outfit?” Mrs. Wayne frowned disapprovingly. “Maria, you will smell horrendous!”

“I smell _fine,”_ Maria replied, her tone starting to border on the annoyed.

The man standing with Mr. and Mrs. Wayne cleared his throat before speaking with a British accent. “Madam, perhaps it would be best to allow Miss Maria her own opinions about her way of dress for the moment. We got away from Gotham to relax for a few days and not think about anything stressful, did we not?”

Neither Maria nor Bruce missed the meaningful glance the man sent in their direction. Maria inclined her head slightly in response to the “we’ll talk later” sort of expression he had in his eyes, and she gave only the slightest of nods in response – a nod that most wouldn’t have been able to notice.

Mrs. Wayne paused at the man’s statement as Mr. Wayne nodded.

“Alfred is right,” Mr. Wayne said. “Let’s not think about Maria’s fashion habits for now – let’s spend the rest of the day simply touring New York and think about where we could go for the next few days. This is our vacation, after all – Wayne Enterprises is functioning well without our needing to be there, and I’m sure that you have other things to be thinking about besides our finances or what people like Maria are doing with their money – no offense, young lady.”

“None taken, Mr. Wayne,” Maria replied without so much as a twitch of annoyance.

“So, how about we go enjoy some time alone and allow Bruce some time to get to know his friend on his own? He is getting older, and we won’t always be there for him. Besides, he seems to have a good judge of character.”

Something in the way Mr. Wayne looked at his wife seemed to convince her to back off, and she nodded.

“Now, I think there’s a vendor somewhere who has something that we could eat – you two stay out of trouble!”

As the two adults turned and walked away, Alfred’s knowing gaze intensified and focused on Bruce. As soon as they were out of earshot, he said, “This is one of those super-powered friends you spend so much of your time with, isn’t it?”

Maria blinked at Alfred’s comment as Bruce’s expression went serious.

“Maria is someone that I haven’t seen in this dimension in a long time, Alfred,” Bruce said evenly.

“He’s aware of what you do?” Maria raised an eyebrow. “I knew he was in the old timeline, but with your parents around, I had wondered if that was still the case in this timeline.”

“He covers for me when I go out,” Bruce explained.

“And while I do not approve of Master Bruce’s actions, I can see that it is doing…some small measure of good in Gotham. I only wish he would not put him into these situations so often.” Alfred frowned at Maria. “And who are you supposed to be, Maria?”

“Flare-Up,” Maria replied. “I haven’t made my mark in this dimension yet, and if and when I do, I intend to do it on my own terms. Right now I’m just trying to look for someone who’s disappeared from my dimension.”

“…right.” Alfred wasn’t going to show his doubt very clearly, but anyone who knew how to read him could tell what it was that he thought of Maria. “Well, Miss Flare-Up, if you intend to be near Master Bruce at all during this vacation, I recommend that you keep your hero business as far from him as possible. If you have to go away and do something by yourself, don’t take him with you and – how do you know that he is who he is?”

“I watched an adult Bruce Wayne in cartoons go around as the Batman and save people’s lives,” Maria replied calmly. “I also got to know him personally when we interacted in dimensions other than my home.”

“Dimensions?”

“Alternate Earths.” Maria paused. “You doubt that what I am saying is true. But it is the truth, Alfred. I’m not one to lie when it comes to my origins or the reasons that I’m here. I’m just more in the habit of withholding the complete truth.”

Alfred blinked slowly.

“If need be, I can offer proof from the alternate timeline that was lost to this dimension,” Maria said. “But I doubt that it will fully convince you that I know who the heroes of this dimension are and what it is they are all capable of.”

“Young lady, all you will do with that is only convince me you are even more crazy than Master Bruce,” Alfred replied. “If you wish to prove that you are trustworthy, show me in action, not in words.”

Maria inclined her head at that. “I doubt you will be following me into battle anytime soon.”

“True. However, do not doubt that I have my own ways of gathering information.”

Maria quirked a brow slightly at that, then nodded a little in acknowledgement. “Very well then.”

The fact that Maria did not look the least bit surprised at Alfred’s words caused him to raise an eyebrow at her curiously. “Just how old are you, young lady?”

“The last time I saw Bruce in person, he was an adult and I was eighteen years old.” Maria paused. “Now, the situation has reversed slightly. According to my home dimension, I am 38. However, if you wish to still think of me as a child on the cusp of adulthood, I will not fault you for it. Especially considering that I do not look remotely middle-aged.”

Bruce stared at Maria. Alfred did the same, but his expression was of uneasiness, rather than a guarded expression.

Before Alfred or Bruce could say anything to Maria’s comment, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne came back with a selection of ice cream treats, both looking much more relaxed.

“Well, let’s get this day trip started!” Mr. Wayne said cheerily.

**Time Break**

**Maria’s POV**

The hotel suite that the Waynes had taken over for the week definitely suited their tastes. A couple bedrooms, a small sitting area, and a kitchen that Alfred could use to his liking if he felt like it.

I would have taken he couch in the sitting area, but the Waynes insisted I sleep on a proper bed for once. Bruce volunteered to take the couch instead, since they only had two rooms and not three.

Alfred seemed to think that I was going to conk out as soon as I hit the bed because of all the sight-seeing that we’d done during the day – which was wandering around Central Park and take in all the statues and things that were going on there, mostly. It had given me time to look into what was going on in the rest of the world while learning more about them at the same time, at least.

There is no Justice League. Not yet.

The Avengers and the X-Men are formed, and there are events happening in Dakota, Gotham, and Metropolis – which are both cities of their own not far from New York – but the heroes of the DC side of this dimension haven’t started working together full time yet.

And  _Captain America_ is the one who is interred in an asylum. That point caused me to pause -- I hadn't thought that they would have willingly done that to him. At the same time...I had been him and I had suddenly remembered things that had not happened, I too would be...under suspect for certain trains of thought.

Regardless, the players are all here. It’s only a matter of time before they are brought together under dangerous circumstances, or they never will.

At eleven, Bruce slipped into my room and closed the door behind him before making his way over to his luggage in the dark. I was lying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling when I heard him.

“So, Nightwing is an adult in this timeline.”

Bruce’s movements paused. “We haven’t talked about that.”

“I have access to the internet, Bats; I’ve been looking into recent events all afternoon.” I sat up and looked at him. One of his suitcases was open; he was in the process of revealing a hidden compartment. I knew what was in it without having to see it. “I wasn’t expecting to see you younger in age, but if you and Nightwing had an age swap pulled on you by the multiverse, that does make sense. At least then someone is keeping an eye on Gotham for now.”

“He doesn’t remember. He’s always watched Gotham.” Bruce started pulling his costume out from the hidden compartment in his luggage and started pulling it on, stripping down to his underwear as he did so. I turned my gaze away slightly, but I wasn’t put off by his actions. While Bruce was younger, he was also mentally older than I was. I wasn’t planning on doing anything with a boy I had looked up to when he was a man.

“In this timeline.” I paused. “What do you plan to do tonight?”

“Patrol.”

“In the Avengers’ territory?”

“There’s always Hell’s Kitchen.”

“Daredevil.” I got off the bed as Bruce settled into his costume. It was strange to see him wearing it when he was only a teenager. “The Avengers have New York pretty well covered, with how many heroes there are gathered together in one place.”

“There are still pockets of places they can’t reach.” Batman looked at me with serious eyes. “And you have someone to find. Going out tonight will help you find him better than going around during the day with my family will.”

“I agree,” I acknowledged. “I simply questioned why you were planning on going out regardless of my presence.” I paused. “Where do you want to start?”

“Mutant sightings. Your brother would count for one, if he is here.”

I nodded. “Xavier’s school? He would know where to find mutants.”

Batman considered my question, then nodded slightly. “Come on.” He went over to a window and pushed it open before jumping out without any sign of hesitation.

I followed after him a moment later and leaped out into the space between skyscrapers.

I twisted in the air as Batman shot off on a grappling hook shot towards the roof of another skyscraper. A red and orange board of metal appeared underneath me; my hoverboard, made by Gear from Dakota, back in the old timeline.

Before my Continuum Shift caused everything to change.

I moved after Batman, and my clothes shifted to something else – armor, mostly red and gray, with some orange on the armor that covered my chest.

Batman looked me over as I reached the roof of the skyscraper, expression as guarded as my own. After a moment, he turned and started across the night skyline with another grappling shot. “You’re going to need a mask.”

“I didn’t need one before.” I followed after him, spreading out my senses to see if there was anyone nearby. I doubted there was anyone out at this time, but it seemed at least somewhat likely that one of the Avengers or other heroes was out patrolling the area, looking for trouble.

“People are going to notice you with us.”

“People may think that I’m just a lookalike. And it will take time for Flare-Up to make any sort of mark in this dimension, Bats. Let’s find that school and see if Xavier knows anything about my brother.”

“I doubt that’s all you’re here for.”

I frowned at Batman’s comment as we continued to make our way through the city towards where Xavier’s school for mutants was located.

Right now, my focus was to find Matthew. However, the way that I had been told where he was….

“Dr. Strange told me Matthew was here.”

Batman glanced back for a second before he kept moving forward. “The Sorcerer Supreme?”

“Yes. He knew about Matthew and directed me here. If there’s anything else that is going to happen here as a result of the crossed-over worlds, him telling me to come here might have been more purposeful than to just help me find missing family.” My eyes narrowed slightly in thought. “Whatever the events are, I’m sure they’ll make themselves known in time.”

“No visions this time?”

“Not yet. I will let you know if I see anything that hints at the future.”

Batman considered that, then nodded slightly as we kept going. He didn’t seem concerned over what could come in the future, but after facing the Dark Arms, I could assume that he was preparing for every threat that could make itself known – both on Earth and far beyond it.

It’s not hard to be, when the planet has something that everyone is going after.


	2. Chapter 2

**Maria’s POV**

Finding Xavier’s school for gifted children was the easy part.

Getting in without being seen was going to be somewhat difficult.

I looked down from one of the nearby skyscrapers, scanning the building with infrared vision. “Shielded, like I expected. Xavier went all out in building this place to not be so easily invaded.” I looked over at Batman as I shifted back to normal human vision as he lowered what looked like a pair of teched-up binoculars from his face. “I don’t doubt that he’s already aware that we’re here.”

Batman said nothing as he put his tech back into his belt and pulled out his grappling hook. “Then let’s make sure he knows that we know.”

“Let me.”

My hoverboard detached from my back and hovered at the edge of the rooftop, over the open area far below us – a part of the grounds that were a part of the school. I stepped on, then motioned for Batman to get on behind me.

“At least it isn’t as undignified as getting a ride from Superman.” I raised an eyebrow at him.

Batman looked at me for a moment, then stepped onto the hoverboard behind me, and we flew down to the front of the school.

As expected, there was a bald man in a wheelchair who looked like a teacher waiting for us at the front door. And next to him – also expected – was a rather muscular man in a leather jacket who looked about ready to bite the head off either one of us if we tried anything.

Batman leapt off my hoverboard before I came to a full stop, and I stepped off after spinning in a tight circle to slow myself down. The hoverboard connecting back to my back in the form of a battery pack caused the man in leather to raise an eyebrow, but he didn’t look very surprised. Neither did the man in the wheelchair.

“I assume you two have a reason for considering trespassing on our grounds tonight?” the man in the wheelchair asked gently.

“I came here looking for my brother, or someone who would be able to locate him.” I stepped forward. “Batman is a friend of mine who’s giving me some help.”

I could feel Batman glaring daggers into my back. He had probably been planning to say something before I did.

“And you are?” the man asked.

“Maria Carlsdale. I’m looking for my brother Matthew.” I held my arms out at my sides, showing I had no weapons. “He’s an Aura adept – he can see the life forces of those around him and manipulate his own to create attacks he can use – usually long-range. The two of us got separated, and I managed to track him here with some help from Dr. Strange.”

The name drop got the wheelchair-bound professor’s attention. He leaned forward slightly, eyebrows rising up. “Interesting.”

“I don’t know if we should trust these kids, Doc,” the man in leather said with a low growl. “There’s something about that one that doesn’t smell right.” He nodded to me as Batman inclined his head.

“I know why I smell off, Logan,” I replied, causing him to stiffen. “It’s either the fact that I am not native to this dimension or I am a walking, talking pile of shifting gears and armor running on alien fuel. Does that sound about right?”

Logan’s eyes narrowed sharply, and he muttered a number of things under his breath that confirmed my suspicions.

The man in the wheelchair looked much more serious at my revealing of the knowledge of Logan’s name. “If you are from another dimension, Maria, then what is your brother doing here?”

“We were separated,” I replied. “Beyond that, I’m not sure how to explain what happened without making you doubt my sanity even more, as it involves resetting a portion of the multiverse at large in order to prevent it from collapsing and other events that you would no doubt claim are impossible.”

Logan and the other man exchanged looks at that.

“I hope you don’t mind if I…make sure what you say is true,” the one in the wheelchair said carefully. “I don’t want to place any of the children here in danger of something that you might represent.”

I nodded, then closed the distance between myself and the two men in front of the mansion. “Do what you will, Xavier, but be warned – you will not like what you see when it comes to what happened during the World Collision.”

Logan frowned and mouthed the two words, not looking like he quite knew what to think of them. Xavier had an odd look on his face as well, but his seemed more of vague recognition than anything else.

Then the wheelchair-bound psychic raised a hand, and I found myself pulled into my own memories. There was an angry buzzing at the back of my head, of course, but it settled back into a low humming presence after a moment.

The Protocol had recognized that Xavier was an organic being with curious, but harmless intentions. While he could change memories around in others, I doubted that he could do the same with me for obvious reasons.

Xavier took his time going through some of my memories, sorting through my childhood with rather quick and efficient ease. It was when he reached the year I turned 16 that he hit a roadblock.

 _What is this?_ I heard him ask as he hit the start of a particular set of memories.

 _World Jumping,_ I replied.

It took Xavier a moment to absorb that, and after that everything I had experienced rushed past me in a blur: discovering Atlantis, traveling in a world where animals were called Pokémon, being turned from an organic being to a metal one (Neo-Earth caused him to pause for a moment before he continued on), and all the way up to the events of the World Collision.

Here, he stopped on the memory of my parents dying right in front of my eyes, before pushing on through what else I remembered. I could feel alien claws digging into the back of my neck, my chest, my limbs, in an attempt to figure out how I worked. I could hear the way people screamed my name as I came after them.

I remembered the feeling of nearly breaking my moral code and bringing a sword down on my brother’s head.

Then everything went white, and I found myself standing in front of Xavier’s mansion again, breathing heavily as Xavier leaned back in his wheelchair, staring at me with wide eyes and a pale complexion.

“Doc?” Logan looked between me and Xavier, looking ready to jump at me at a moment’s notice.

“I’m…I’m all right, Logan,” Xavier managed. He took a moment to recover his composure as I looked at the two of them. Batman moved forward to stand next to me, attempting to look imposing – which, considering that Batman was also a teenager at this moment, didn’t quite give him the full effect he was probably looking for.

Xavier focused on me. “Well, Maria. It seems that you have quite a reputation beyond our world – you and your brother both.”

“Can you find him?” I asked. “He would count as a mutant here, considering his ability. I would as well, if I was still organic.”

“Yes…I believe I might be able to find him. In the meantime, you could stay here, if you wished – is there a chance you could come by tomorrow?”

Logan shot the professor an odd look. “Charles—“

“I will have to see what my present adult chaperones will have to say on the subject,” I replied, raising a slight eyebrow.

“Ah, yes; of course. Well, I’m sure you will find a way to convince them – both of you.” Xavier nodded to the both of us. “I shall look forward to seeing you again. In the meantime, I shall look into this request of yours, Maria. Considering the nature of your family, he might fall under the definition of mutant, unlike those who are given their powers by other means.”

I nodded. “That’s all I ask. Thank you.”

Batman put a hand on my armored shoulder. “We should go.”

I nodded in response to his statement.

“Kid, wait.”

I looked over at Logan as he made his way over to us, inclining my head at him.

“You’d better hope yer not pullin’ anything over on us,” he growled.

“I’m not.” I stared him down while looking up to lock my gaze with his. “I wouldn’t dare do that to the man who is attempting to achieve piece between mutants and normal humans without any more bloodshed than has already occurred.”

Logan paused at my words, considering them. Then he grunted and went back to the mansion as Xavier wheeled himself through the front door, and the two of them disappeared from sight.

“Back to the hotel,” Batman said. “Now.”

I activated my hoverboard again and stepped on, Batman moving to get on behind me. “Has something happened?”

“Nightwing has finally located all the old members of the core unit of the Justice League.”

“So he remembers.” The hoverboard rose up into the air and took off in the general direction of the hotel suite we were in, Batman gripping my shoulders.

“It took a little persuasion, but I was able to find a way to make sure he did.” Batman sounded smug – unusually so, even. “According to Nightwing, all of the main team with a few exceptions are active as they are supposed to be.”

“One being you in your present age.”

“Exactly. However, none of them have decided to team up for any reason. Yet.”

“You think that something is going to happen, caused either by what I am doing here or by something else, that is going to bring the Justice League together in this timeline.”

“Yes. However, the Avengers are already a group and are already active themselves, except for Captain America, who has been admitted into a local asylum and hasn’t been considered a member of the team since.”

I frowned. “Which is only because of his reaction to the memories of the World Collision, according to Dr. Strange.”

“More than likely. According to what information I have been able to find, he was talking about events that never occurred and waking up screaming about red eyes in the middle of the night.”

Batman’s definition of “information I have been able to find” meant either it was readily available or he had to hack in order to get it. I decided not to ask which method he used.

“What about the others? Has Dakota’s Big Bang incident already happened, or is that set to start soon?”

“It happened several months ago; Static and Gear have already made names for themselves there.”

I nodded. “They’ll be fine. Has anyone else suffered from a shift in age besides yourself?”

Batman said nothing. I guessed that he was brooding about the fact that he was now a teenager and not the fully-grown adult he was used to being.

“I don’t know.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You mentioned interacting with Nightwing.”

I could feel him brooding behind me.

“So he’s either the age he’s supposed to be or the age that you were when the two of you met in the initial timeline; got it.” I turned around the side of a building and started to slow as we approached the open window our suite. “And you haven’t interacted with the other members of the Justice League because the League hasn’t formed yet.”

“And no one is insistent on interacting with anyone else.” Batman stepped off my hoverboard and jumped through the open window. I followed after him and stepped into the room as my armor shifted back to regular clothes. “They have staked out their cities for themselves and would not react well to us stepping into their territory for any reason. New York is free reign only because the central hub of the city is so large and there are small pockets of us packed so closely together that they are sometimes forced to work with each other.”

I nodded as Batman pulled off his mask. “You’re suspecting my arrival is going to cause the Justice League to eventually come together. Because my presence usually means something big is coming.”

Bruce pulled his cape off and started folding it up tightly before putting it back in his suitcase. I averted my gaze as he got back into his pajamas. “You haven’t had any visions yet. It’s only a matter of time before something besides your brother catches your attention.”

“I agree. But that doesn’t mean that I will be forced to push Matthew out of the picture entirely. He could be just as involved in whatever vision I see as he might not be. We will have to wait and see how events play out.”

I heard Bruce zip his suitcase shut. “If anything comes up, let me know.”

“You’ll know.”

I could feel his best Batman stare digging into me, but I wasn’t fazed as he moved out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

Whatever it was that was going to be coming in the future, I figured that the both of us would be more than prepared for it.

**Space Break**

Charles Xavier wheeled down to Cerebro faster than Logan had ever seen him move. The mutant was almost running after the professor.

“What is it about that kid that’s got you so spooked, Charles?” Logan demanded. “What’s in her head?”

“Important memories that I had thought were nothing more than dreams.”

“What are you talking about? That doesn’t make any sense!”

“It doesn’t to you because you don’t remember.” Xavier stopped at the entrance to Cerebro and palmed the door open.

“And that makes even less sense,” Logan grumbled, following Xavier into the machine.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know if you ever will be able to make sense of it.” Xavier took hold of the helmet that sat waiting to be used and placed it snugly on his head. “Mostly because of circumstances involving events that cannot be undone.”

“Well, you could try to make more sense.”

As Cerebro hummed to life, Xavier looked back at Logan.

“The universe we stand in now was involved in an inter-dimensional war that ended in the dimensions involved being reset to some degree,” Xavier said. “None of us were supposed to remember what happened, but it seems that there are some who do – and some who can be made to remember, as is my case. Whether or not the young man that Maria is looking for remembers the events he was involved in or not is something that I don’t know, but if Maria needs help in finding him, then I doubt that he has yet.”

“All right.” Logan sounded doubtful, but he wasn’t about to argue with Xavier about this yet. Talking to the kid might prove to be more useful. “So who is this Matthew kid?”

“An interesting young man who goes by the name of Aura Seeker.”


	3. Chapter 3

Convincing the Waynes to visit Xavier’s school started immediately at breakfast.

“Hey, Dad, you were talking about looking into possible charities and places for me to donate money to in the future, right?” Bruce asked.

Maria looked up from her bacon and eggs and swallowed her mouthful before reaching for the orange juice.

“Well, yes, Bruce.” Mr. Wayne looked over at his son with a curious expression. “Why? Have you managed to choose one?”

“Yeah. Professor Charles Xavier’s school is always looking for donations, and I like what they’re working towards, so—“

“The mutant school?” Mrs. Wayne asked in surprise. “Why there?”

“They’re doing good work, Mom. They’re helping people learn how to control their abilities and do things that could help society in the long run.”

“But what about the Brotherhood of Mutants?” she pointed out worriedly.

Maria shook her head. “Entirely different entity. Charles and his school butt heads with them quite a lot. The Brotherhood wants the Mutants to _take over;_ Charles wants them to integrate. Pretty big difference.”

“You know about the goings-on with them?” Mr. Wayne looked over at Maria in interest.

“Yeah.” Maria shrugged. “I like keeping up with the heroes and what happens in different cities. Like the accident that happened in Dakota? There are a couple teenagers there who are picking up the slack and helping the police out a bit. Technically, they could be counted as mutants – I mean, Static is a walking EMP pulse and Gear is a techno-geek who can talk to computers in the literal sense – and they’re learning how to control their abilities out there, but it’s going to take a while for them to learn homeschool-style. Maybe if Xavier got enough money, he could create a second school out somewhere or do a summer school course program for students who couldn’t afford to live in New York nine months out of the year. It would help people not accidentally cause explosions that would lead to them turning to crime because of how society views them.”

The Waynes and Alfred stared at Maria at her words.

“That is…an interesting view on this,” Mr. Wayne said carefully. “Almost idealist, even.”

“I like to see the best in everyone, if there’s a chance for it.” Maria paused. “But I do admit, that kind of hope can only go so far. The Brotherhood is made of mutants that find discontent in how they are treated in society and their reactions to it show that discontent as much as it shows them breaking the law.” She shrugged again. “I’m sure Magneto’s tried to get people to listen with words before, but now he’s found that action works a little better. Not really all that much that can be said other than that.”

“What sorts of studies are you planning on going into when you get into college, young lady?” Mrs. Wayne asked.

Maria blinked at the question. “I…haven’t really thought about it. My parents probably would push for me to go into something involving history or literature, but…my interests are kind of all over the place.” She shrugged.

“Well, you might do well as a sociology or psychology major,” Mr. Wayne suggested. “You sound like you could know what’s going on inside and out!”

Maria shook her head. “I’m not that much of an expert, Mr. Wayne. People can still and will catch me off-guard. The times when I can get into their heads and read why they do what they do does not tell me what they will do in the future.”

As Maria had spoken, her expression had gone from somewhat lighthearted to more serious and grim.

“That sort of ability comes from something else,” Maria added.

At that exact moment, a splitting headache shot through Maria’s temples, causing her hands to shoot up to either side of her head as she gritted her teeth and screwed her eyes shut as the adult Waynes let out calls of surprise.

_Magnetic – a man sitting in a room alone, looking like he’d seen better days – a dark-haired figure with a staff and a wide grin – “Something about your plan doesn’t seem right….” – “Too many people planning on moving at once. We need to band together as a team or else this league of….of villainy is going to overturn everything!”—_

“—ria! Maria!”

Maria shook her head as her sense of the present came back into focus, eyes glowing with a brighter blue before fading back to their normal color. “Gotcha.” She rose to her feet.

“Young lady, what just happened?” Mr. Wayne asked, frowning. He looked cautious, like he wasn’t sure whether or not to trust what had just happened.

“I didn’t think that you would be present the moment that I did have a vision,” Maria replied, expression stoic. “I wasn’t expecting one either.”

“That wasn’t an act.” Bruce had a serious look on his face as well.

Maria shook her head. “I just had visions of both Magneto and Loki. Something is going to happen, but I’m not sure if it will involve either one or both of them. There are hints at a league of villains and a need for heroes to band together. Sounds like the Justice League is finally going to come into being an actual thing.”

“Justice League?” Mr. Wayne repeated sharply as Alfred stiffened. “What sort of nonsense is this? We already have the Avengers in existence – why would we need another group?”

“This world is off-balanced because there isn’t another group,” I replied. “The team members are there, but none of them have become partners yet. Batman and Superman are usually seen as partners, despite the fact that they work in two separate cities.”

“And one of them is a crazed teenager who would do better leaving his work to the police,” Alfred said pointedly.

“Tell that to the two high schoolers in Dakota who are practically doing the police’s job for them,” Maria replied flatly. “Or the X-Men teams – they’re made of a good number of teenagers and young adults as well. And I’m pretty sure that Batman has someone keeping an eye on him just in case he does something overly reckless.” She glanced over at Bruce.

Bruce nodded once, stiffly. “Yeah. Nightwing.”

“Honestly, those two would do better if they had proper jobs,” Alfred said disapprovingly.

“Then what about the villains who have come about who the normal police force wouldn’t be able to do anything against?” Maria replied evenly. “Help comes from somewhere, and it’s pretty clear to me that Nightwing and Batman have at least some inkling of what they need to do. In fact, in another time and place, they’ve helped me more than you will ever know.”

“You’re not making any sense, young lady,” Mr. Wayne said disapprovingly. “Stop beating around the bush.”

“All right.” Maria held her arms out to either side of her, and shifted to her armor, causing the three adults in the room to stiffen in surprise. “My name is Maria Carlsdale. There are some who call me Flare-Up. I am a being from another dimension known as a World Jumper – I traverse dimensions as an occupation, not as a hobby. I originally came here in search of my brother, Matthew, as he’s gone missing after an event that caused timelines and other events to shift and for people to forget what happened before. Now it seems there’s another reason for me to be here, and I intend to react accordingly.”

The stares she received as a result of her explanation were ones that Maria had been expecting – the disbelief and shock on their faces was enough of an indication of what they thought of her.

“I went to Xavier’s school last night and spoke with the professor,” Maria added. “He agreed to help me look for my brother, and he asked me to come back to his school so that we could plan how to find Matthew and bring him home. Because of the vision I have just seen, it’s clear to me that some parts of the plan will need to be changed.”

Alfred shot Bruce a look at Maria’s words – a look that went unnoticed by Bruce’s parents. When Bruce raised an eyebrow at the butler in response, Alfred’s eyes widened sharply.

“I find it hard to believe that a young lady such as yourself would be given a job to travel across dimensions.” Mr. Wayne rose to his feet. “It sounds like a work of fiction!”

“I know it is difficult to believe, but I speak nothing but the truth in how I arrived here,” Maria replied. “I had thought that I would be able to keep it hidden this time, but it seems that fate decided I should reveal myself to you.” Her armor shifted back to her clothes, and she stuck her hands in her pockets. “I thank you for your hospitality, and I hope that you won’t think any less of me for not telling you everything.”

“What do you mean?” Mrs. Wayne frowned. “What else is there that –“

“There are some things I know that the average citizen shouldn’t, even if that citizen knows who and what I am, to a certain extent.” Maria looked the two adults over. “They are not my secrets to tell, or they are things which I never intend to inform others of. There is only so much that a person can consent to seeing as truth without there being proof of it. Saying that I am from another dimension is difficult enough to believe – what do you think would happen if I told you about the things I have seen? The things I have done?”

Mr. Wayne’s expression shifted at Maria’s words.

“In the same way that Captain America is being seen as not quite sane, you would see the same in me,” Maria said evenly. “So, if you would excuse me, I am going to take my leave of you. I hope that you will not become too involved in what’s about to happen, but sometimes things are unfortunately unavoidable.”

Maria started to head towards the suite’s door in order to step out of the Wayne’s gazes.

“Wait.”

Maria paused, hand on the door’s handle, and looked back at Mr. Wayne. She raised one eyebrow slightly.

“Why is this happening now?” Mr. Wayne looked at her seriously.

Maria inclined her head slightly at the question, then shrugged. “It is the way of the Multiverse. I have no control over what events do and don’t happen. I’m here as a reaction. What happens now that I’m involved could make things more dangerous. You’ll know when it gets bad enough that you should get out of the area, but I hope that it won’t come to that.”

Maria looked at Bruce, causing his parents to look at him with confused expressions. By the time they looked back at where Maria had been, the door was closing behind her.

Alfred sent Bruce a look; Bruce made a slight motion with one hand in response. _We’ll talk later._

**Maria’s POV**

Making my way to Xavier’s school in broad daylight was different than in the middle of the night with Batman. I couldn’t just fly – that would alert everyone of my presence here, and I wasn’t planning on having that happen. Not yet.

Which meant that I was walking to the school’s location through crowds of people dressed as tourists or people in town for business, and I had to be careful not to draw too much attention to myself.

Although, I _did_ see other people drawing attention to themselves – mostly above my head as they flew around the city.

Or web-slung.

“—sure it’s coming from here?” asked the smaller, clearly muscular of the two as he swung around the corner that I was walking around.

“Positive!” called back the man flying around in armor. “That energy signature is around here somewhere and it’s—“

They were gone before I could hear the rest of what they were saying.

I focused on shielding my energy signature and kept moving. If the Avengers were aware that I was here, I didn’t want to get into contact with them just yet. They weren’t the Avengers that _I_ remembered. And if I revealed myself to them now, there was less likely a chance that I would be able to get Matthew back _my_ way.

I didn’t want to be caught by surprise by them or do the surprising myself. Not yet.

I had things to take care of, first.

In the end, it took me a couple hours to reach Xavier’s school, and by then I could see that the kids who lived there were already up and moving. The older residents were out on the front lawn, going over something that I guessed was a private study for them. The main members of the team, maybe going over movements of villains in secret.

Logan was standing near the entrance of the mansion, and as I walked up the main path of the grounds towards him, I got quite a few heads turned in my direction. Kids stared at me with curious expressions, stopping in the middle of small games of baseball or reading under trees. One young man with red-tinted sunglasses looked at me like he was about to laser me in the back of the head.

I knew that he could if he only took the glasses off, but I wasn’t about to antagonize him.

“I’m here, as promised.” I looked up at Logan as I stopped in front of him, folding my arms across my chest and raising an eyebrow at him.

“I can see that.” Logan looked around, nose twitching slightly as he sniffed the air. “Bat boy didn’t follow you back here?”

“He might come by later. I left my temporary chaperones on my terms. He can’t exactly ditch.”

Logan grunted, then turned and motioned for me to follow him inside.

Xavier was waiting for us in the main hall, looking calm as ever. Mostly.

The fact that he had Jean standing behind his wheelchair and the fact that he was gripping his armrests a little more tightly than he normally did made me wonder if there was something wrong.

“Thank you for getting here so quickly after your visit last night, young lady,” Xavier said. “Jean, this is Maria, the young lady I was telling you about.”

I didn’t dispute that. I was technically still young compared to Xavier, fluxes in time accounted for or not. As it was, 38 in my dimension’s time was far younger than Xavier in this one.

“Hi.” Jean gave me a cautious nod. “Jean Grey. I heard you’re looking for your brother?”

I gave a nod in return. “Yes. Matthew. He sometimes goes by the name Aura Seeker, if he needs to.”

Jean blinked. Something crossed her face that vaguely looked like recognition, but it was gone a moment later. Were memories of the previous timeline attempting to come back? It was certainly a possibility.

“I assume then you go by another name too?” Jean looked at me curiously.

I held up my right hand. “Flare-Up.”

My hand was instantly covered in flames, causing Jean and Logan to stiffen in surprise. Xavier, on the other hand, didn’t look the least bit startled as I cut the energy flow off and let the flames fade.

“I’m not related to Pyro.” I put my hands in my pockets. “And neither is Matthew. We’re different in our own way.”

“Quite,” Xavier agreed. “Speaking of your brother, I have managed to locate him.”

I turned my head sharply to look over at the professor.

“Unfortunately, he’s joined up with Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants. Either that means he has something to fulfill in keeping our dimensions balance, or he has lost any memory he has of who he is to you.”

“Dr. Strange said that it’s the second one.” I frowned. “He also said that Matthew wouldn’t remember until I triggered his recovery. If he’s with Magneto, that means he thinks he’s a mutant who is native to this dimension. I don’t know how much that will be the case when I finally run into him, or when he finally recovers his memories.”

“…Professor Xavier told me who you were, but hearing you talk like that now makes this sound a bit ridiculous,” Jean said. “I mean, we know about other dimensions, but people who can travel freely between them and have to because it’s their job? I find that a little hard to believe.”

“And people in my home dimension would find it difficult to believe that their alien, mechanical neighbors are a cartoon and toy franchise in this dimension, Miss Gray,” I replied. “Or that it’s possible that comic book characters such as yourself are real, intelligent beings who simply live beyond a barrier most can’t find ways to cross.”

Jean stared at me as Xavier nodded in agreement. Logan’s expression didn’t change, but I could guess that he was mulling over what I’d said and thought that the whole thing was complete and utter nonsense. I didn’t bother to correct him – not yet.

“In order to reach my brother quickly, I am going to have to weasel my way back into the hero community,” I continued, going back to the reason that I was here in the first place. “And in order for me to be able to do that, I am going to have to reveal myself to the public in some form.”

“You could become a member of the X-Men,” Xavier suggested instantly. “You are, after all, technically a mutant.”

“A mutant in a metal body, but yes.” I nodded. “That would be the most logical way to go. However, the Avengers are starting to look for me – Iron Man and Spider Man passed over me as I walked, talking about a signal that had popped up on radar. I assume they were talking about me, and I’m glad to have had the foresight to shield my signal this morning.”

“Explains the smell,” Logan muttered under his breath as Jean stared at me. The look on her face when she put two and two together let me know where her thoughts were headed.

“I’m technically a Replicating Android, or Reploid for short,” I told them. Jean’s eyes widened sharply. “Calling me just a robot suggests that I have no proper mind of my own. Considering that I used to be human, I’d rather not be called a drone that someone can use however and whenever they like.”

“Completely understandable,” Xavier said smoothly. “Well, if you are going to be staying with us for some time, then perhaps it would be a wise idea if we showed you around and got you settled in. I assume that you have finished high school, at least?”

“The World Collision happened the summer after I graduated, so yes.”

Xavier paused at that, blinking for a moment in thought as Logan and Jean exchanged looks. “…I see. And how much time has—“

“I’m technically 38 in my home dimension.” I scanned the three in front of me, gauging their reactions. “The World Collision took 20 years according to my home dimension, but it felt like longer.”

“It felt like far longer for all of us,” Xavier agreed, not looking the least bit startled at my likely age.

“You look like you couldn’t be older than 17!” Jean frowned. “How can you be—“

“I became a Reploid when I was 18 and haven’t aged physically since,” I said flatly. “Considering that mechanical beings don’t age the same way that organic ones do, I should think that you should not be as surprised about this as you seem to be.”

Jean said nothing. She looked like she wanted to smack herself in the face for not remembering that.

Logan, on the other hand, looked…almost curious. Something told me I was going to have to confront him on that later.

“Well, considering your present physical age and the knowledge you already have, you can pose as a teacher or older student for now,” Xavier offered. “I’m certain there is a position that will need to be filled at this point in time. For now, let us see about finding you an open room to stay in.”

I nodded in agreement, then followed Xavier and Jean out of the main lobby. Logan remained behind, but I could feel his eyes digging into the back of my head as I left with Charles.

Something told me I was going to be talking with the Wolverine some time later. Much later.


	4. Chapter 4

**Maria’s POV**

Xavier introduced me to the kids at lunch as a solo vigilante who had come to the school to see if I could pick up a few new tricks or teach the same to the kids who were already there. I could see that the line-up in the school at that point was from the _X-Men Evolution_ cartoon, which probably meant that the same could be said for the Brotherhood.

Minus the fact that my brother was a part of them, too.

“So, what are you going to be teaching us?” spoke up one of the younger kids.

“I haven’t decided yet,” I replied. “We’ll have to see what comes to me over the next few days.”

The look on my face must have made some of the younger ones nervous; the older ones didn’t look the least impressed.

“So, if you’re a vigilante, what exactly are you able to do that makes you a—“

“Let’s just say that I’m called _Flare-Up_ for a reason.”

One figure stepped forward – a young man with a cold gleam in his eye and a cooler feel in the air. “Does that mean you’re related to me?”

“I am not Pyro, Bobby,” I replied. “And I am not related to you. I am someone entirely different.”

Bobby blinked at that, then frowned. “I didn’t—“

“I know you didn’t introduce yourself. I’m not about to say how I know.”

The rest of the day was…interesting. I spent most of it learning the layout of the school and figuring out who was there, who was absent, and what classes I could sit in on and what classes I didn’t really need.

I sat in on most of them and ignored others, especially sessions in the Danger Room. I didn’t need them to know what my abilities were _yet._

By nightfall, the students and teachers in the school knew who I was but didn’t know _who_ I was. And I appreciated the fact that I was still something of a mystery to most of the people here.

Except for Xavier, that is. He remembered, but I didn’t know _how_ he did. Something about looking into my mind must have given him back the memories he had lost in the Continuum Shift, or he is using them to fill in the blanks to know who I was.

Batman was waiting for me on the roof of one of the nearby skyscrapers that night. He looked annoyed.

“Parents didn’t let you come over today,” I noted, hovering next to the roof.

“They think you’re a hoax,” Batman said. “They didn’t exactly appreciate the fact that you mooched off us for a day.”

“They were the ones who invited me; I was going to be fine on my own until I was able to find a place to live for now.” I paused. “I know where Matthew is. He’s with the Brotherhood, but the X-Men haven’t decided to tell me anything more about their location or what their possible plans are. I was planning on doing some searching tonight, before they put me to work as a teacher tomorrow.”

“Teaching what?”

“Languages, probably.” I shrugged. “It seems to be the thing I know that the other teachers don’t have experience in. Or are too busy with other classes to really be able to teach.”

Batman inclined his head at that. “No techniques?”

“The only other Fire user who is a mutant is Pyro, and he is with the Brotherhood.” I paused. “Wolverine may ask me for assistance, but I doubt that he is going to be willing to pass on instruction to a seeming-eighteen-year-old. What have you been able to find?”

“The heroes are crawling all over the city looking for you. We met Tony Stark personally to talk about business deals and I heard one of the Avengers in his tower talking about how searching for your signature is nothing more than a goose chase.”

“I’ve hidden it. They aren’t going to be able to find me unless I decide to let them. And that is not going to be for some time yet.”

“Until when? You know that you are going to have to eventually.”

“I want to help you get the Justice League network set up first. There are enough heroes gathered closely together here that I can assist you in networking. In the meantime, I can focus on bringing my brother back.”

Batman nodded. “I have a few locations in mind. Come with me.”

I followed him across the rooftops as he swung from building to building, getting shouts of surprise from some of the people in open-window offices.

Rumors were going to start circulating about our presence here, now. That I was certain of.

Batman’s first instinct was – of course – the darker parts of the city.

Specifically, Hell’s Kitchen.

“This is Daredevil’s territory,” I said as we landed in one of the darker allies. “I don’t think he would take kindly to seemingly-teenage vigilante intruders. He may see us as trouble.”

“You’re right.”

I turned my head at the voice, and a man jumped off a closed dumpster: wearing nothing but red, and with a mask that had little horns at the top and no visible eyeholes to be seen.

“Dirty allies are no place for children to be playing,” the man said. “Go on home and leave this to the grown-ups.” He motioned to our appearances – me and my armor, and Batman’s costume.

“There are some things that even adults aren’t completely aware of,” I replied. I could reveal his identity here and now, but it wasn’t necessarily a secret to the superhero community – on the Marvel side. Batman wouldn’t know that the man in front of us was actually Matt Murdock, lawyer and defender of Hell’s Kitchen.

Not unless he had done his own research.

“I’m looking for my brother,” I said. “He goes by Aura Seeker.”

“You’re looking for a member of the Brotherhood?” Daredevil’s covered eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“He’s lost his memory and I can help him recover it.” I inclined my head. “I go by Flare-Up, and I do not side with Magneto.”

Of course, Magneto’s thought process was more complicated than that, but I wasn’t about to make things more complicated in front of a lawyer.

“Leave finding your brother to the X-Men,” Daredevil said.

“I’m not about to when I know my brother far better than they do. And they don’t know what I know about possible futures.”

“What would a child like you know about possible futures?”

“I’m not a child.” I frowned. “I am a 38-year-old android who knows the way of the multiverse and how things operate within it. I know that there is something coming, and I am not about to sit and _wait_ until I get a clearer picture of what is coming.”

“The multiverse?” Daredevil inclined his head. “What do you know of the multiverse?”

“More than most people my appearance might. I’ve traveled it – Dr. Strange can tell you about who I am; he was the one who told me that my brother was here.”

Daredevil straightened at that. “You don’t throw that name around lightly, young lady.”

“I’m not. I’m sure you can already tell I’m not human. A slight metallic lit in my voice, the slight creak of metal in my joints as I move even a little. I bet that, if I didn’t have my signal shielded, you would be able to hear my power source beating like a heart beat.”

Daredevil paused at that.

“I doubt the Brotherhood would hide here.” I looked over at Batman. “Magneto would find a better place for the children under his care. He may be a criminal mastermind, but he isn’t insane like the people in Gotham.”

Batman blinked at that, saying nothing.

“Why would Dr. Strange tell you your brother is here?” Daredevil asked, frowning.

I shrugged. “I don’t claim to know the machinations of the Sorcerer Supreme. What he does with his time is his own business, not mine. I’m sure I would have come here on my own in time, if I had waited for the vision to come and catch me by surprise.”

“Would you have rather done that?” Batman asked.

“In the past, yes. Now, I want to beat them to me, so that I can solve the problem before it becomes a large one.” My eyes narrowed. “Finding the Brotherhood is going to factor into my vision; Magneto was there. I don’t know what else is going to come of our finding them, however, seeing as I saw Loki with Magneto.”

Daredevil’s stance stiffened with every word I spoke; clearly, he was _not_ liking where I was taking this conversation. “What are you, to know these things?”

“I am a World Jumper,” I replied. I paused. “I travel between dimensions to keep things in balance. I know worlds, and I know the people who live in them. I know what lies under both your and Batman’s masks, as well as the masks of others. But I am not about to reveal that information unless asked. If you wish to talk to me more, I am staying at Xavier’s school – for now. I will know who you are.”

And I took off without another word, hovering a few skyscrapers away while I waited for Batman to catch up.

It took him a couple minutes, but he did swing up and land on the skyscraper near where I was hovering. “I have a general location of where the Brotherhood might be hiding, but Daredevil was cautious in giving it.”

“I wouldn’t expect any less from him,” I replied. “He is, after all, talking to people he perceives as minors – he doesn’t want us to become harmed.”

“Mentioning Dr. Strange seemed to make him more willing to give away that information.” Batman looked at me. “How important is he?”

“Dr. Steven Strange is…magic, to put it simply. He uses energy from various dimensions in order to do what others cannot – allow his hands to actually work, for example, or keep an evil demon sealed away in another dimension where he will not be able to consume the entirety of the Marvel multiverse as they know it.” I paused. “In a way, he is a grounded version of a World Jumper, protecting one world and, as a result, the entire multiverse from one monster, simply by remaining here.”

Batman didn’t look the least bit impressed. If anything, he looked more annoyed. “Magic.”

“Yes, magic. Now, the Brotherhood’s location?”

Batman gave me an irritated look and took off towards another section of the city. I followed after him, keeping pace easily.

**Space Break**

Aura Seeker stood on the roof of the skyscraper, watching the sunrise. On a whim, he activated his ability.

The New York skyline became awash in blue hues, the buildings and streets below glowing even more brightly than the sunrise.

He winced, and blinked rapidly as his sight went back to normal. “Man, that still hurts.” Seeker rubbed at his eyes with one hand, scattering the blue sparks that had settled across his nose like a domino mask. “Probably because of how many people are living out here…ugh. I need to work on turning auras out at this rate, otherwise I’m not gonna be one bit useful.”

“But you are, Aura Seeker.”

Seeker turned at the old man’s voice and stiffened to attention. “Magneto, sir!”

The old man motioned for the young man in front of him to relax. “There are no other mutants I have seen who have an ability such as yours. You needn’t be disappointed in your skills.”

Seeker ducked his head. “Sir, all I can do is see the life forces of others. I don’t know how useful that is.”

“You will, given time and practice,” Magneto replied. He gave a calm smile. “Come inside and join us for breakfast. I have some things to discuss with you all.”

Seeker nodded, then started to follow after Magneto, but paused when he felt something prickle on the back of his neck. He turned, hoping to spot the source.

There was no one else on the rooftop.

Then Seeker blinked, and everything went blue…

…except for two bright stars that stood on a nearby skyscraper.

Seeker blinked. He hadn’t seen a pair of auras that were tinted with fire and darkness before.

“Seeker?”

Seeker blinked away the blue and looked at Magneto.

“Did you see anything?” Magneto asked.

Seeker frowned at the question, then shrugged. “There’s too many auras for me up here. I’d kind of like to train somewhere quieter.”

“I shall see to arranging for that later. “Magneto motioned for Seeker to follow him, then stepped back into the building. Seeker followed after him, still frowning.

Something had held him back from telling Magneto. But what?

Meanwhile, on the rooftop Seeker had been staring at, a teenage boy in a bat suit lowered his binoculars as a seemingly teenage girl lowered her hand from her ear.

“He doesn’t remember,” Maria said. “Not yet.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“The one thing I do best. Get involved.”


	5. Chapter 5

Maria remained in the back corner of the school’s cafeteria with the other faculty as the kids came in looking for breakfast. She watched the kids file in out of the corner of her eye as she ate and listened to the faculty.

“You know, we may know what your power is, but we don’t know what you’re capable of.”

Maria paused in the middle of chewing a bite of scrambled eggs, considering that, then swallowed. “Storm, you have not given me an opportunity to show what it is that I know. And I am not going to go against children in order to prove what strength I have – it wouldn’t be right to put someone like me in such a position.”

“That confident in our abilities, are we?”

“You only know about _one_ ability. I never said what the rest of them were.”

Storm leaned back in her chair, thoughtful, gray eyes alight with a curiosity that suggested a cat stalking prey. Maria remembered that there were timelines where she and the Black Panther married, and thought it an appropriate match. “Perhaps, then, you could become a demonstration for one of the students? Show them what it is like to face off against an opponent with surprises up their sleeves?”

“Not against the kids. That would be too cruel.” Maria saw Bobby looking at her out of the corner of her eye, and ignored him.

“The more inexperienced, no. But what about someone like…Kurt? A target you can’t necessarily have the chance to hit?”

The head of the German mutant who looked like a dark elf with a demon tail looked up at Storm’s voice and looked over in their direction. He blinked before he went back to his food, electing to ignore them instead.

“He would be something I’d be likely to go against,” Maria acknowledged. “I don’t have enough experience with teleporting opponents yet. A spar could prove to be useful.”

“Logan?” Storm looked over at Logan. “Would it be all right if we borrowed Kurt and Maria and saw what it is that our new resident is capable of?”

Logan grunted as he looked up at the question. His eyes narrowed slightly. “Fine; see what I care.”

Maria caught sight of something in Logan’s eye – it was faint, but the glimmer of interest was clearly there. He wanted to see what she was capable of as well.

Maria carefully hid her own smirk and glimmer of amusement. None of them knew what she was capable of – none except for Xavier, who was out with Jean taking care of some talks about mutants and looking to recruit more to his cause. As much as she knew that she was here for a reason, there was some hidden part of her that was looking forward to enjoying what was going to happen next.

As breakfast finished and the occupants of the room started to scatter in different directions, Storm rose from her seat and motioned for Maria to follow. “Kurt? Could I speak with you for a moment?”

Kurt looked over, stopping in the middle of a conversation with a teenage girl who had stuck her hand through a chair in order to muss up a friend’s hair. He looked at the two of them, shrugged, then made his way over as Logan moved to stand behind Maria.

“Ja? Vat is it?” Kurt looked up at Storm with a slightly nervous expression.

“We want to see how well Maria knows her own skills, and what she isn’t telling us,” Storm said casually. “Considering your ability to make yourself a difficult target, would you be willing to push her to her limits?”

“M-me?” Kurt pointed at himself in surprise, blinking a couple times. “B-but—“

“Kid, it’s either you go after her or Bobby does,” Logan growled. “I want to see how well he handles fighting someone like his brother.”

Kurt cut himself off at Logan’s words, bright yellow eyes widening. “O-oh.”

“I don’t care either way,” Maria said with a shrug. Her expression spoke of indifference, but she was curious, if only a little. If this meant that they would let her do as she pleased during the day instead of sneaking out at night in order to find her brother, then she was willing to move forward.

Kurt looked a little nervous at that, then nodded. “Okay. I will do it.”

“Danger Room, no obstacles.” Logan put a hand on Maria’s shoulder. “Come on.”

Logan and Storm led Kurt and Maria over to the Danger Room in the more-fortified section of the mansion-school. Maria found herself raising an eyebrow at the walls as they approached the doors that led into the main arena of the Danger Room.

“Who’s running it?” Kurt asked.

“Cyclops,” Storm replied. “He knows not to set off any of the traps unless we tell him to.”

“Oh joy,” Kurt muttered. “Zis is going to be fun.”

Maria rolled her shoulders and neck, getting soft _pop!_ sounds at the movement. She didn’t look thrown off by the news that Cyclops was going to be the one running the Danger Room, nor did she seem all that worried.

The doors slid open, and Maria stepped through first into the circular, seemingly harmless metal room. She caught sight of a young man with red glasses standing on an observation deck high above their heads; it was the same man she had locked eyes with upon her arrival the day before.

Maria inclined her head at him as Storm, Logan, and Kurt followed her in, the two adults moving to stand near the door as Kurt looked at Maria and swallowed nervously.

“All right. Just powers, no tricks other than that,” Logan called over. “Kurt, you know the drill.”

Kurt nodded. “Ja.” He looked over at Maria. “Um…well, good luck?”

“Same to you,” Maria replied with a nod in return.

 _::Are you two ready?::_ came the call from the observation deck. Maria saw Logan give Cyclops a thumbs-up in response. _::All right. Touch your opponent three times or make them yield without killing them. No broken bones, no severe burns, and under no circumstances will you two walk out of here so easily if you try for the longest fight in the history of the school. Got it?::_

“Got it,” Maria replied as Kurt nodded vigorously.

_::Then go!::_

Kurt vanished with a _BAMF!_ and a puff of dark smoke, leaving Maria’s line of sight instantly. Maria didn’t look the least bit phased, instead holding out her right hand and gripping something invisible as her eyes closed.

So it turned the spar from something expected to something interesting when she suddenly swung around and decked Kurt across the face with a red, wooden staff that had a flaming bird on the top.

“Gah!” Kurt was sent flying back, but then he disappeared with another _BAMF!_ before he could hit the wall.

“Level One,” Maria muttered under her breath. “Let’s see how far I go.”

Kurt’s feet collided with Maria’s shoulders, tightening their grip on her shoulders. He started leaning back, trying to throw Maria off-balance. He managed to pull Maria back onto the floor, only to get whacked in the face by Maria’s staff in a two-handed blow just as he disappeared in a blast of smoke before appearing on Maria’s chest in a crouch.

“Done?” Kurt asked with a grin, tail twitching in amusement.

Maria’s eyes narrowed. “Level Two.”

And her entire body was covered in a layer of flames.

Kurt yelped and danced off Maria, allowing her to get to her feet as the flames dissipated.

“I am called Flare-Up for a reason,” Maria said. She spun her staff in both hands as the top became coated in flames, and she used it to slingshot a fireball right at Kurt, who teleported out of the way before it could hit him.

Kurt reappeared seconds later behind Maria. “You don’t do well with—“

The shockwave of flames that shot out from Maria’s waist caught him by surprise, actually hitting him without enough force to send him flying back a short distance.

Maria brought the staff up above her head and swung it around before slamming its base into the floor of the danger room, yelling “Icy Terrain!” as a circle of ice spread out from where she was standing and in a short distance around her.

Kurt started to get to his feet just as the ice reached him, causing him to slip and fall to the ground with a yelp as Maria turned to look at him, gripping her staff in one hand.

“That was a demonstration of what I can do beyond fire at this level of power.” Maria folded her arms across her chest. “Do you think you can push me higher?”

Kurt got to his feet, looking annoyed. “You have not beaten me yet!” He started teleporting all over the Danger Room, leaving so much purple smoke that it obscured Maria’s vision. “Now see if you can find me!”

For a moment, all the watchers could see was purple smoke, as well as hear the occasional _BAMF!_ from Kurt as he kept the smokescreen up.

And then something about the mood of the Danger Room changed slightly.

At the entrance down on ground level, Logan’s nose twitched, and he blinked before a slight quirk of a smile tugged at his lips for a second.

“Stun Shot!”

A bright yellow light suddenly rocketed through the purple smoke and collided against something, causing Kurt to let out a squawk of surprise, closely followed by a thud.

“I’ve stunned him,” Maria announced. “Kurt is presently paralyzed from the neck down by an electrical charge; he will recover in a few hours, but in the meantime I believe the spar is over.”

A blast of wind flew through the room, pushing the smoke away and revealing that Storm was hovering in place, hands held up in the air as a windstorm sucked all the smoke up and dispersed it. In the process, it was revealed that Kurt was indeed lying on the ground, momentarily paralyzed: sparks were flying from his furry form.

And Maria was standing in the middle of the room without her staff and her arms resting at her sides, looking over at where Kurt was lying. She looked over at Logan and locked eyes with him as Storm approached Kurt and drew the electricity away from him, letting the teleporter scramble up to his feet with a shocked expression on his face.

“How did you know where I was?!” Kurt asked in surprise.

“Infrared,” Maria replied simply. “My powers are fire-based; it makes sense that I would be able to sense body heat in some way.”

Kurt stared at Maria, wide-eyed, but Maria wasn’t watching his reaction. She was watching Logan’s. When the man’s expression didn’t shift or change, Maria turned her gaze to the figures standing in the observation deck above and raised an eyebrow at Cyclops.

A moment later, the door to the Danger Room slid open, and Maria exited without another word.

Maria was halfway to the presently unused classroom that was going to become her language lab when she finally said something to the figure following after her.

“What do you want from me, Logan?”

“Information,” came the responding growl. He grabbed Maria by the shoulder, intending to make her stop and turn to look at him.

What actually happened caused them both to stop, but not in the way that was expected.

When Logan’s hand brushed against Maria’s bare neck as his hand clasped her shoulder, a buzzing sensation ran from Maria’s neck and through Logan’s hand, causing them both to stiffen and stop short.

Logan stumbled back and leaned against the wall, startled. Maria turned sharply and looked at him, eyes slightly widened in a defensive look. When she saw him, she paused.

“Holy shit,” Logan said. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Maria responded, frowning.

“You didn’t see it?” Logan reached up for the back of his neck and paused, then muttered something under his breath.

Maria didn’t need more hints than that. “You remember, like Xavier does.”

“Hell yeah I remember,” Logan muttered. He frowned at Maria. “And Matt’s here too, huh?”

“And he doesn’t remember,” Maria replied. “I came here to find him, and it seems there are other events taking place that are going to happen soon if something isn’t done. I think it might involve something Magneto has planned, but I don’t have all the details.”

Logan grunted. “He’s always up to something. Never seen a day of the week when he or something else _isn’t.”_ He looked over at Maria with a serious expression. “What do you intend to do, then?”

“Finding Matthew is still a priority, but finding out what is going on and stopping it might take precedence over or become involved with finding my brother; I’m not certain yet.” Maria paused. “There’s also the matter of certain heroes who have found themselves labeled as not quite sane as a result of remembering what happened.”

Logan knew who Maria was referring to. “They’re not gonna let him out easily.”

“I know. But I am going to need to see him at some point. And then there’s Batman’s goal of reuniting the Justice League.”

Logan blinked. “Is he the kid that—“

At Maria’s nod, Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Nightwing has taken the mentor position for now, and it seems that he remembers as well,” Maria added. “It’s only a matter of looking around and seeing if there are others in this dimension who remember naturally or need to be reminded. And in order for that to happen, I need to be put out in the open. But I don’t plan on doing that yet – I have other goals to take care of more than making myself known to the rest of those present in this dimension.”

Logan grunted. “How come Nightcrawler hasn’t remembered?”

“I didn’t get that sensation when he came into contact with me.” Maria paused, going over both scenarios in her mind. “He also hasn’t come into contact with bare skin. If he had landed on my head, he probably would have remembered what happened. At least that gives me options as to how to remind others; a friendly handshake will more than suffice.”

“An’ how many more are you plannin’ on gettin’ to remember?”

Maria frowned at the question. “Not many more than I have to. This dimension was already stable without having every single hero here remember the timeline that came before the one you have now; the Dark Arms aren’t going to be a problem again as far as I’m concerned.”

The dark tone in her voice made Logan pause for a moment, then nod. “If you say so, kid.”

“I’m not a kid anymore. My dimension’s timeline says I’m 38.” Maria paused. “I’m possibly older because of the fluxes in time that came with the World Collision, but I’m not about to count that.”

Logan raised an eyebrow at that. Then he shook his head. “You go do your own thing. Don’t worry about what happens in here. But keep me posted on what’s going on, or else.” He gave Maria a pointed look.

Maria raised an eyebrow in return. “I wouldn’t do anything else in a place that I am not completely familiar with.”

Logan looked at Maria for a moment longer, then nodded and went back down the hall the way he had come, leaving Maria standing alone.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, after Maria had spent the previous day settling in and learning her classroom and taking stock of the materials available, Xavier’s school got a visitor.

Maria walked into the entryway of the building with a short list of textbooks and dictionaries she might need for the language class Xavier was thinking about having her teach when she was met by a sight that she had _not_ been expecting this early in her stay.

Tony Stark standing in the middle of the room, looking around like he owned the place – or very soon was about to. Maria raised an eyebrow at his stance and would have retreated back into the hallway in order to find another way out were it not for the fact that he spotted her first.

“Hey, kid.” Stark motioned Maria over. “Do you know where Charlie is?”

Maria paused at the doorway that led back the way she had come. “He came back late last night with Jean after some talks at other schools in the area concerning mutants and human biology. As far as I’m aware, he’s not to be disturbed.”

“Well, that’s a damn shame. I was hoping I could ask him about a few things.” He paused. “Adult things.”

“Uh-huh.” Maria walked into the main entryway again. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait for the professor or his assistant, Jean Grey, to come down from their rooms in their own time.”

Stark snorted, but he didn’t say anything to dispute it. He frowned. “I haven’t seen you around here before, kid. You look like you’ve been through a—“ He cut himself off and paused.

“Maria.” Maria held out her hand. “My name is Maria Carlsdale, Mr. Stark.”

Stark looked down at the offered hand, snorted, and slapped it like it was an offered high-five.

The buzz that followed was felt by both Maria and Stark, causing him to stumble back a step and freeze as the memories flashed through his head.

Maria, more used to it now that it had happened twice, simply put her hands in her pockets and raised an eyebrow. “Remember me now, Tony?”

The color was draining from Stark’s face rather quickly; he stumbled back and leaned against a table near the front door. “Th-that’s impossible. This is – this can’t –“ He shook his head rapidly and looked at Maria with wide eyes. “Cap isn’t insane.”

“No.” Maria shrugged.

“But he sure as hell acted like he was.”

“Would you, if you were getting memories you couldn’t entirely understand without a physical being nearby to assure you that it was real?”

Stark paused. “Touché,” he muttered. “So what are you doing here, then? Come to remind us because those things are at it again?”

“Matthew’s here, and he doesn’t remember. Reminding the rest of you is unexpected, but if I need to do it for at least some of you because others have remembered on their own, then I am willing to follow through.” Maria folded her arms across her chest. “At least I had a chance to remind you to make sure that you weren’t going to be stalking me for the next few days.”

“Wait, that signal was you?”

“I release energy in order to create portals; I have my signature shielded for now, but do you really expect me to be able to keep it shielded when I am creating portals?”

Stark blinked, considering Maria’s comment. “All right. Where’s the human Lucario then?”

“With the Brotherhood of Mutants. Again, he doesn’t remember, and I doubt that he would join them because he wants to partake in the violence that they have to offer.”

“Well, why haven’t you gone after him and nabbed him yet?”

“Because I was only made aware of his exact location two days ago and I have yet to find an opportunity to be able to speak with him in person.” Maria raised an eyebrow. “I was planning on finding a chance for that today; your arrival was unexpected.”

“I thought you kids got visions for things.”

“Big events. Not little things like whether or not I will run into certain people today.” Maria shifted how she was standing slightly. “Considering that I had a vision two days ago that said that Magneto and possibly Loki were planning something, I doubt that I am going to be having more visions unless I am unable to stop the event in time.”

Stark’s expression sharpened. “Magneto and Loki, huh? Thor’s brother has gotten really quiet recently. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s up to something.”

Maria nodded.

“So, you gonna swing by my tower? Say hi to everybody else?” Stark wiggled his right hand’s fingers meaningfully.

“We’ll see,” Maria replied stiffly. It’s a matter of whether or not I will need your help. Getting Captain America out is more of a priority for me than meeting up with the rest of the Avengers.”

Stark’s expression soured. “Yeah. That. Getting Cap out is gonna be harder than it was getting him in.”

“I don’t suppose the fact that you’re rich is going to be able to do anything about that.”

“Nope.” Stark paused, tilting his head slightly. “Well…maybe. But it’s gonna be tight. Especially since I was the guy who stuck him in there in the first place.”

“Do what you can and let me know if you can’t get him,” Maria said evenly. “I will focus on my brother and Magneto for now.”

“Sounds good.” Stark looked around. “So, uh, do I really have to wait for someone else to come by to talk to Charlie or do I need to take a number and wait?”

“Mr. Stark. Xavier wasn’t expecting you until this afternoon.”

Maria and Stark looked up as Jean came downstairs from the second floor.

“Well, I wanted to get a few things done ahead of time,” Stark replied suddenly all business. “Is he free to talk right now?”

“He is, but—“

“Excellent.” Stark started up the stairs. “If you’ll lead the way, young lady.” He kept moving despite his words, forcing Jean to scramble after him.

Maria contemplated going after them herself and touching Jean to make her remember, but decided against it.

She had other things to take care of today, and reminding Stark was enough for now.

Maria stepped out of the school and started to make her way down the path towards the grounds’ exit. She was leaving on the pretense of needing textbooks and dictionaries – and would make sure to return with some, as Xavier made sure to provide her with funds during her stay here – but she had other goals in mind.

Finding Magneto or Seeker was her priority today.

Maria made her way down busy streets, remembering the route she and Batman had taken two nights ago in order to find the place that Daredevil had told them the Brotherhood was hiding out in. There were fewer people in this part of the city, which made Maria wonder if the mutants in the area were attempting to drive the people out or had found a place that didn’t have very many people to begin with.

At least there weren’t very many people there at the time, so Maria could make her powers known if it came down to it.

There was a slight, momentary flash as Maria shifted to her armor, but it quickly disappeared under a flicker of light as she settled into her normal clothes again. Her eyes flickered, then, turning a darker blue as Maria scanned the streets.

In this way, she was able to see someone coming at her in a way that she wouldn’t have been able to notice otherwise.

Maria turned sharply as a figure came flying down from somewhere above her head, a long, sticky pink thing flying out of his mouth ahead of him.

Maria held up her left arm, letting the tongue attach to her arm before she set it on fire. The resulting scream that followed causing the figure to let go and let Maria burn the sticky saliva off her armor.

“Ow!” The figure – a lanky boy with strange hands and fingers, as well as an unusually long tongue – hit the ground and held his tongue with a pained expression. “You burn’d my tongue!”

“That’s what you get for sneaking up on me from behind, Toad,” Maria replied coldly. “Try that again and your taste buds will _all_ be seared off.”

Toad stared at Maria with a wide-eyed expression, disbelief and surprise clear on his face. When Maria advanced towards him, he scrambled back and hopped around a corner and into a darkened alley.

Maria didn’t relax as soon as he disappeared, however. Instead she turned and looked up as she caught sight of another figure hovering in mid-air a short distance away.

This man wore a helmet and gloves; if she was even considering reminding him, she would have to catch him without his helmet first. And that was almost impossible.

“Who are you, young lady?” Magneto asked as he landed on the street.

“Flare-Up,” Maria replied, not breaking her composure. She had faced – in her opinion – far more dangerous beings than a man who could control just magnetism. The fact that she wasn’t being pushed back in response to his magnetic field was more than enough to tell her that she wouldn’t be affected by Magneto’s ability, either.

Even magnetism had its limits – especially on alloys that were invented in other dimensions.

“An apt name,” Magneto acknowledged. “Tell me, Flare-Up, what are you doing out here?”

“I’m looking for someone who’s forgotten his past,” Maria replied cryptically. “I heard that he might be in this area.”

Under normal circumstances, someone looking for their brother wasn’t about to say who it was to the face of a known villain. Seeing him get reminded – or even mentioning said brother’s name – might produce a rather negative reaction.

However, Maria wasn’t known for being cautious in the face of someone she recognized from a comic book or a cartoon.

“He goes by Aura Seeker,” Maria added.

Just like she had suspected, Magneto’s stance changed slightly at the mention of her brother’s chosen moniker. “I did not think that we would meet someone who knew him, much less knows that he has forgotten anything about his past.”

Maria inclined her head in response, putting her hands at her hips as Toad peered out from his hiding place. “Does it matter how I know what state Matthew is in? All I know is that he is here and that I can help him recover his memory.”

Magneto’s eyes narrowed.

“Matthew?”

Maria blinked at the voice that came from behind Magneto, and he turned his head as another figure walked forward: a young man wearing a dark blue jacket over a black shirt, and jeans with black boots that had blue lightning-stripes up the sides.

“That’s…that name sounds familiar.” He frowned at Maria. A bright blue domino mask sparked around his eyes as his blue eyes flickered even more brightly.

“It’s the name our parents gave you,” Maria replied calmly. “Morgen and Katie Carlsdale. I’m one of your two younger sisters.” She held out a hand. “I’m Maria.”

Seeker blinked at Maria as Magneto continued to look down at him, frowning. “You…you’re telling the truth, I can tell that much, but I’m not getting a very good read. How are you suppressing your aura?”

“By suppressing something else.” Maria paused, then tilted her head slightly. A second later, Seeker’s eyes widened, but then he blinked in surprise. “I’m suppressing my signature so that people I don’t want to find me can’t find me. I hope you understand that much.”

Seeker blinked as Magneto’s frown deepened, and he nodded slowly. “Yeah…hey, if you’re my sister, then how are our powers related? Aura reading and – fire? Right? How do those two relate?”

“You can focus your aura to do more than just read others.” Maria stepped forward, holding out her hand. “Take my hand, and I’ll show you what I mean.”

Seeker looked at her hand cautiously, then closed his eyes and gained a determined expression as the Aura-made domino mask faded into a series of sparks before dissipating completely. He reached out with his own hand.

The contact between Maria’s and Seeker’s hands set off a shockwave of energy that caused Seeker to stiffen up instantly as he let out a cry in surprise and shock. He stumbled back from Maria, hand shaking as the color drained from his face, eyes wide.

“Wh-wh-what is –“ He cut himself off and closed his eyes tightly, gritting his teeth.

“Wha dib you do?!” Toad demanded from the alley.

“He’s remembering a life that he shouldn’t have forgotten,” Maria replied evenly. “Give him a few moments; he’ll be fine. I can’t guarantee that he is going to be the same Seeker you know by the end of it.”

Magneto started to raise a hand; part of the street started to warp, but Maria didn’t move.

“You do something to me and Seeker will retaliate,” Maria replied. “Or my core will, first – my body may be non-magnetic, but deal too much damage and I don’t know what will happen to my power source. The results could be…explosive.”

Magneto didn’t pause until Seeker reached up and put a hand on his arm.

“Leave my sister alone, Eric.”

Magneto paused and looked down at Seeker as Maria looked over at the young man. As Magneto lowered his arm, Maria’s stance relaxed as a slight smirk appeared on her face.

“Maria, like it or not, is here for a reason, and I’m getting the feeling that it’s not just because I ended up here after the Continuum Shift.” Matthew looked over at Maria as Toad made a confused noise from the alley. He looked more tired now, less confused, with a serious glint in his eye that made him seem older.

“I had a vision a day after I arrived here at Dr. Strange’s request,” Maria said. “Something is going to happen that is going to upset the balance here, and I’d rather not see anything happen that could turn this place into a giant mess. The World Collision was more than enough of one, and I’d rather not set off the Continuum Shift _again_ in order to reset the timeline properly.”

“Huh?” Toad asked dumbly.

“I saw Magneto and Loki together.” Maria looked up at Magneto. “And I got the feeling that what was going to happen wasn’t something that should. I’ve already changed the future by reaching Matthew sooner than the vision suggested I would, but I don’t know how much more I need to change in order to allow the planet to _not_ tear itself apart.”

“So the future’s already changed from the vision you saw,” Matthew noted. “You’re a lot more forward about acting than you used to be.”

“You know well enough why.”

“I wish you two children would explain yourselves,” Magneto said impatiently.

“I’m 38, he’s 39.” Maria nodded to Matthew, who blinked in surprise. “We come from another dimension, which Matthew hasn’t been in for the last twenty years.”

“And you have?” Matthew raised an eyebrow.

“I went home after the Continuum Shift; you didn’t.”

“A what?” Toad waddled over; it was clear they weren’t going to be fighting now, so he was more open to putting himself out in the open.

“A change in the timestream; a reset button.” Maria glanced down at him with a serious expression, then back at Magneto. “This world and others were involved in a series of events that was merging dimensions together. In reversing that, I inadvertently erased any memory of the event from most of the population.” She paused. “And I am capable of causing people to remember, with a touch of skin-to-skin. I am not about to force that upon you.”

Magneto looked down at Maria with a guarded expression. “Is this what Seeker has remembered?”

“Yup,” Matthew replied. “And everything else from my past that I forgot.” He paused, then looked over at Maria. “Who else—“

“Batman, Nightwing, Captain America – who has been declared insane by it – and Xavier, Logan, and Stark by my own hand, whether accidentally or on purpose.”

“Charles?” Magneto snorted, but he was starting to look intrigued.

“They aren’t nice memories,” Maria said. “The Dark Arms may be gone, but their influence will leave you awake at night. It certainly seems to have done so to Captain America, but I doubt that you need me to tell you that in order to know that.”

Magneto considered that, then pulled the glove off his right hand. “Show me.”

“Are you sure?”

“I have seen war, child.”

Maria frowned at Magneto’s words, then slammed her hand into his.

The resulting energy buzz that ran from Maria to Magneto caused him to blink a couple times as his expression paled for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and pulled his hand away. “…I see. This changes things.”

“I should hope so,” Matthew said. He looked over at Maria and explained, “Magneto had been planning on going and trying to do something to the Avengers and the X-Men in order to get a message across. I’m hoping this changes his mind.” He looked back up at the mutant.

Magneto looked down at Matthew for a moment, then looked away from him. “You say Stark remembers?”

Maria nodded. “I reminded him a few hours ago, before I came here.”

“And Batman? The recent arrival on the scene in Gotham?”

“And Nightwing, the seeming-mentor.”

“Seeming?” Matthew echoed in confusion.

“I’ll explain later.” Maria shot Matthew a look.

Magneto considered. “…I see. I will consider this. Toad, come.”

“What about these two?” Toad pointed at Maria and Matthew.

“They can do as they wish.” Magneto looked at the two of them with a strange glint in his eye. “Who am I to stand in the way of two World Jumpers?”

Toad blinked in confusion. “Wha – World Jumpers? Hey, wait!” He quickly scrambled after Magneto and jumped up as the older mutant took off, leaving Maria and Matthew standing alone on the street.

Matthew turned his gaze away from Magneto’s retreating form and looked at Maria with a raised eyebrow. “So, where to next?”

“Back to Xavier’s mansion,” Maria replied, settling out of her armor and back into her normal clothes. “I’ll fill you in on what’s happened here since my arrival as we walk.”

“Not fly?”

“The Avengers – other than Stark – aren’t aware that I am here yet. I would rather keep it that way until I know more about what could happen in the future.”

Matthew considered that, then nodded. “Okay then. Lead the way.”


	7. Chapter 7

Stark was still at Xavier’s school when Maria returned with Matthew in tow.

“And I’m telling you, there’s no way –“ Stark cut himself off as Maria stepped in through the front door, followed shortly by her brother, who looked over at Stark and Jean, who was standing next to the playboy philanthropist, and gave a nod in greeting.

Stark pointed at his head, and Matthew gave a thumbs-up in response, causing Stark to mimic the gesture with a smirk.

“Good to have you back,” Stark said.

“Good to be back,” Matthew replied.

Jean frowned in confusion at Matthew’s words. “And you are…?”

“Matthew, Maria’s older brother. I go by Aura Seeker.” Matthew shrugged as Jean’s eyes widened sharply. “Maria gave me a good knock to the head and got me to come to my senses, I guess you could say.”

Stark let out a short laugh. “I hope not literally.”

“No.” Maria rolled her eyes. “I’m not that cruel to my brother.”

“Nor do you have a sense of humor,” Stark muttered dryly.

“I don’t have much of a need of one,” Maria said matter-of-factly.

Stark snorted. “Suit yourself.”

“Do you two…know each other?” Jean asked in confusion.

Well, yeah,” Stark replied freely. “These two kids have helped me out with a project or two.”

Maria rolled her eyes, but didn’t argue.

“In fact, we’ve got a few things that we need to take care of yet, so I don’t know how long we’ll be sticking around,” Matthew added. “We’ve got a few friends we need to _catch up_ with.”

The emphasis was not lost on Stark or Maria. The Avenger blinked at Matthew’s comment as Maria shot him a look before a grin crossed his face.

“I wish you two kids luck, then,” Stark said cheerily. “If you need anything, be sure to send me a wire.”

“Will do.” Matthew gave Stark a loose salute.

“You’re planning on leaving _now?”_ Jean asked in alarm.

“Why not?” Matthew looked over at Maria before looking back at Jean. “I mean, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover! Metropolis, Dakota, Gotham – we’ve got allies all over the place that we need to go and find and reconnect with.” He looked back at Maria and raised an eyebrow at her.

Maria shook her head in response, then shook her head again when Matthew tilted his head in Jean’s direction.

After a moment, Matthew nodded, then looked back at Stark and Jean. “Give Xavier my regards. Logan, too – I’d have liked to have met them in person, but I’ve got some things that I have to take care of before I can.”

Jean blinked in confusion.

“You gonna swing by the tower before you head out?” Stark asked.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” Maria replied before Matthew could respond. “Remember what you promised.”

“Right, right. Hold your horses, Maria; I’ll get it done.” Stark waved Maria’s expression off almost carelessly, but there was something in his eyes that suggested he was anything but careless right now. “You two go and take care of what you need to. I’ll ring you up with updates if I have any.”

Maria gave a short nod. “Good.” She gave another nod to Jean, then looked over at her brother and motioned for him to follow her back out the front door. “Let’s go.”

“Wait.”

Maria looked over at Jean as the young woman stepped forward.

“What if we need to get into contact with you?” Jean asked. “Don’t tell me you expect Professor Xavier to—“

Maria pulled out a pad of paper from her jacket and made a quick note before tearing out a piece of paper. She handed it over to Jean. “You can find me here.”

Jean took the note and looked over the number that was written there in Maria’s neat but hurried handwriting. By the time she looked up, Maria and Matthew were out the door and long gone.

“Well, I guess that settles that,” Stark said idly. “We won’t be seeing them again for a few days.”

Jean stared at him. “Mr. Stark, why are you acting like you know them?”

“I do.” Stark shrugged. “I just didn’t remember before a little earlier today. You don’t worry about those two; they’ll be more than fine on their own. They know what they’re doing and they’ll be able to handle whatever happens to get up in their face.” He grinned. “I just hope that the poor sap who does realizes his mistake before he gets his nose punched in.”

Jean stared at him with a befuddled expression, but before she could ask what it was that he meant, Stark was already out of the building and making his way down the walkway towards his rather expensive car.

Jean blinked as she watched him go. Just _what_ was going on here…?

**Maria’s POV**

We met up with Bruce in Central Park. His parents weren’t around this time, but he was with Alfred.

I wasn’t sure if that was better or worse for what we were going to be attempting.

Alfred stared me down as I came over to the picnic table he and Bruce were sitting at. “And what do you think you are doing here, young lady?”

“I just wanted to talk,” I replied freely. “Alfred, this is my brother, Matthew, also known as Aura Seeker. Matt, that’s Alfred and Bruce.” I paused, giving my brother a chance to let that sink in. “Yes, he remembers, no, he’s not going by Batboy.”

Bruce’s expression soured as Alfred’s eyes widened sharply and Matt did his best to control the need to laugh that was trying to bubble up.

“How did you—“

“I go by Flare-Up, Alfred,” I said, letting my armor activate for a moment before settling back. “I’m a friend of Bruce’s. It’s okay.” I held up my hands, hoping that would be enough to show him that I was unarmed and not planning on attacking anytime soon. “We have a few things to discuss with him, and then we’ll be gone.”

Alfred looked uncertain at that.

“You’re going about this all wrong,” Matt muttered. He looked over at Alfred. “Sir, I know this may be hard to believe, but something has happened to this world that has prevented a few events from taking place, as well as causing other events to happen sooner, later, or in ways that weren’t expected. Some people still remember the things that did happen before the timeline reset, but most people don’t.”

Alfred frowned. “If I was to believe you, young man, what proof would there be that you’re telling the truth?”

“Mom and Dad died in the original timeline and I took on the mantle of the Batman in response to that when I was an adult,” Bruce said suddenly. “Why else do you think I’ve been able to find the weaknesses of the rogues in Gotham so quickly? Or got Harvey into therapy before his _two-faced_ personality came up?”

“Master Bruce, we don’t talk about—“

“What about The Claw, Alfred?”

Alfred shut up.

“So, she came after him sooner in this timeline.” I frowned. “Has Bane—“

“I’ve been watching Cuba, and nothing’s come up.” Bruce paused. “Yet.”

Alfred looked like a fish out of water.

“Let’s not talk about him,” I said. “We’re here because you wanted to find the members of the Justice League who haven’t banded together properly yet. I have a feeling they may be connected with something that will happen, but I’m not certain of the events that will lead up to it. Right now, Loki is—“

A headache slammed through my temples.

_“These heroes have had more than enough of a run of our world. I say we knock them down a peg and show that we don’t need them.”_

_“—need to work together—“_

_“I work alone.”_

I shook my head as the world came back into focus. Matthew was looking at me with a concerned expression, as was Alfred, but Bruce’s expression was guarded.

“…I think I have your reason for the Justice League to come back together,” I said. “Lex Luthor is up to something, and Superman doesn’t want anyone else to get involved. He’s pulling the ‘work alone’ card.”

Bruce’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll talk to him. You go and see how the others are doing, I’ll take care of Kal.”

“You are certainly not going to Metropolis,” Alfred said severely. “Not without adult supervision.”

“I’ll bring Nightwing with me.”

“I am not talking about Master Dick, Bruce.”

I looked at Alfred as Bruce turned his head to look at Alfred sharply.

“You—“

“I have heard the two of you speak quite frequently; I know that the two of you are closer than you appear to be at first glance,” Alfred said matter-of-factly. “But no, I will not be leaving the two of you to fend for yourselves, Master Bruce. Thomas and Martha can handle very well without me needing to be here; if you wish to take a field trip into Metropolis for a few days, they will be more than happy to send me along to keep an eye on you.”

Bruce stared at Alfred with a guarded expression that made it seem he was about to argue against the butler’s decision. After a moment, he smirked. “All right, Alfred. I’ll call Dick when he gets off work; being a policeman between Bludhaven and Gotham can get to be a bit tiresome.”

Alfred nodded. “Good. I shall see to it that your parents are informed of your request.” He turned and looked at my brother and I with a critical gaze. “And where do you two plan on going, then?”

“Dakota,” I replied, causing Bruce to look over in my direction. “There are a couple people there who haven’t seen us in a while and would be glad to know that the two of us are doing all right.” I glanced over at Matthew, who only needed a couple seconds to put two and two together before he nodded in agreement.

“Yeah; and we could probably use their help in getting at everyone else,” Matthew said in agreement. “So we’ll head to the city with the Bang Babies first.”

Alfred looked disgusted. “Why do they call themselves that? Are they all giant babies that explode?”

“I think the idea is they were reborn in a sense when that explosion at the docks went off – when they got their powers.” Matthew looked over at me. “Sound about right?”

I nodded. “Then again, it’s a gang thing, and I am not about to profess that I know what goes through the minds of people who are in gangs.”

Matthew nodded. “Yeah, that’s true. Well, we’d better get going. I don’t think we want to wait around too long if Lex is up to something.”

I inclined my head at his words, then back-flipped onto my hoverboard as it appeared out of nowhere, causing Alfred’s eyes to widen sharply at its sudden appearance. “You’re right. I think he may be trying to create the Light group that caused the Justice League trouble in the previous timeline, which means he is gathering together criminals that most – if not, all – of our allies have faced before. We will have to keep that in mind as we work our way across the country.”

I held out my hand to Matthew, and pulled him up onto the hoverboard behind me. “Having some people around who know what is going on will put us at an advantage when compared to what might happen if we went after Lex and his allies alone.”

“Wait.” Bruce rose from the picnic table and pulled something out of his pocket – a wad of bills. “You’re not from this dimension, and any currency you have on you is going to either be considered counterfeit or cause inflation. Take a portion of my allowance – you’re going to need it.”

I blinked at Bruce’s actions, as did Alfred.

“Are you sure that’s—“

“I insist. You two are not going to be sleeping on the side of the road,” Bruce said flatly.

“…thanks.” Matthew took the cash out of surprise. “I know Maria could handle it, but the two of us can definitely only go so far.” He stuck the bills in his pocket.

Bruce nodded. “Get going. We probably don’t have a lot of time before Luthor decides to make his move.”

I nodded in agreement. “Keep in touch if he does anything.”

Then I took off towards the skyscrapers and started heading west.

“Do you know where the city of Dakota even is?” Matthew asked loudly as we rushed around skyscrapers.

“It’s in the Midwest!” I called back. “I have the coordinates; it’s only a matter of getting there.”

“And how long is it going to take to get there?”

“That depends on weather and whether or not we are stopped by something else in the meantime.” I started to pick up speed a little. “I am hoping to reach Dakota in two days, maybe three.”

Matthew wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Just don’t throw me off when you hit supersonic!”

I snorted in response to that, but said nothing as I continued to press forward.

We had some old allies to find. And fast.

**Space Break**

Stark adjusted his tie as he walked into the main level of the personal quarters of Stark Tower – now the Avengers Tower, but not very many people could tell the difference between them yet.

Thor was sitting in the main living space, drinking from a big mug of mead as he always did while flipping through channels on the TV. Why technology fascinated the big, muscle-y guy, Stark had no idea.

“Hey,” Stark said casually as he walked past. “Know anything about World Jumpers?”

Thor instantly leapt backwards off the couch and into Stark’s path. “World Jumpers?! How would you know of—“

“There’s two of them here.” Stark took a step back; Thor’s bearded face smelled of more mead than a normal human could stomach. “They’re looking into a few things, making sure that our dimension’s hunky-dory after resetting the timeline, that kind of thing.”

Thor stared. “Reset the timeline?” He repeated. He frowned. “How do you know of such things?”

“All Maria had to do was give me a high-five.” Stark wiggled his fingers, and Thor’s eyes widened. Stark raised an eyebrow in response to the motion. “So, you do know about Flare-Up and Seeker, huh? I was wondering if you remembered that fiasco.”

Thor looked surprised for a moment, but then his expression shifted to a more serious one. “I remember, yes. I remember what those creatures attempted to use us for.”

“Cap remembers, too,” Stark added. “So I’ve gotta figure out a way to get his star-spangled butt out of that hospital without making it look like I’m the one who’d gone cuckoo. Seeker and Flare have already one ahead to help get the JL back together for something, so we’re gonna be on our own for a bit. What do you say, big guy? Wanna give me a hand?”

Thor considered the question, inclining his head slightly as his eyes scanned the room with a guarded expression the likes of which most didn’t want to see on the face of the thunder demigod. After a moment, he nodded.

“Good. Now to figure out how to get a message to Cap so that he knows he’s not crazy and the rest of us aren’t, either. And then we find a way to get him out.” Stark grinned widely. “Let’s do this.”


	8. Chapter 8

It did end up taking Maria and Matt two days to cross the states and hit the Midwest, slowed down only a little by occasional breaks on Matt’s part while Maria took her time recharging the hoverboard’s energy for another few hours. They would have gone through the night and cut down on their travel time were it not for the fact that Matt would have fallen off the hoverboard from exhaustion and they both really needed some proper rest.

As a result, they reached Dakota in the mid-afternoon instead of in the early morning, but neither one of them were miffed about it.

Maria circled around and landed in a part of town that looked like it had seen better days. A couple people huddled on the ground near abandoned buildings that looked ready for a condemning caught of the two of them and bolted as fast as they could towards a different street.

Maria stepped off her hoverboard and shifted out of her armor as Matt stretched out his sore legs.

“Remind me to get a seat or something the next time we do that,” Matt said as he massaged his legs. “I’m not sure I’m going to be doing much walking over the next few days.”

“I won’t hold it against you if you find a place to stay and rest,” Maria replied. “Finding Static and Gear is either going to be extremely easy or extremely difficult; we will just have to wait and see what events are taking place here and whether or not we should get actively involved in them.”

“…that reminds me, why are you going after Static and Gear to get them on the Justice League?” Matt looked at Maria with a raised eyebrow. “They weren’t part of it originally.”

“Batman isn’t the age that he was when he initiated the group; having some fresh eyes who are about his age now might be more useful than it seems,” Maria replied. “That, and Lex won’t see a Midwestern walking EMP coming; he either think that Static is too far beneath him, too far away, or far too busy handling things here to get involved with his plans.”

“Is this something Batman’s gonna like or—“

“I don’t care what Batman thinks right now; Static and Gear would be good additions to the group and that is final.”

Matt held up his hands in a placating gesture. “All right, all right; didn’t want to step on any toes.” He looked around at the open street. “So, where do you think they’re going to be hiding around here? I don’t think our entrance into town went all that unnoticed.”

Maria nodded in agreement. “I know. I’ve activated my infrared to see if any more well-known opponents of Static’s are coming over to investigate. Let’s walk for now; I want to see the state of the city on the ground floor and not up by the rooftops.”

“Sounds good. Where do you want to wander over to first?”

Maria didn’t give her brother a verbal answer; instead, she started walking down the street towards a nearby intersection. Matt moved to follow after her, then fell into step next to his sister.

“The best way to get a hero’s attention is to either be the one to cause trouble, come in and give some help when it looks like they need it, or come into their territory in such a way that they are unable to ignore you,” Maria commented. “Considering that I did the second and third when I came here before the Continuum Shift—“

“When you came here with me and helped the Autobots, you mean,” Matt interrupted.

Maria paused at his statement, then nodded a little. “Then it would stand to reason that a combination of or one of those two would get their attention again. I doubt that they are going to simply ignore the fact that someone just flew into their city on a hoverboard. Gear is going to want to investigate, at least, when he starts hearing the rumors or if he saw us himself.”

“Which you think he did.”

“It’s late in the afternoon. If they were in any school or day activities they would be long done by now and those two would be patrolling the city. Considering that we just flew into the city at high speed, I’m expecting them to find us within the hour.” Maria turned at the intersection and started down another street. “Until then, we can wander around here and simply attempt to figure out what part of the timeline they happen to be at, as well as what villains are giving Static and Gear the most trouble at this moment in time.”

“Uh huh.” Matt tilted his head to one side as a bright sky blue domino mask flickered across his face. A frown crossed his face a moment later. “We’re being followed.”

Maria didn’t appear to react. “By what?”

“Something in the shadows. It’s hard to get a good read because the aura feels so spread out for some reason.” Matt blinked. “Oh. Wait.”

“If course it happens to be him,” Maria commented. “Get ready to make a bit of a light show – or find ourselves in the middle of one.”

“You two don’t look like you’re from around here,” came a sneering voice from a nearby alley. A figure separated himself from the shadows, but he looked like a shadow himself.

Maria and Matt stopped walking as the figure approached them, watching him with guarded expressions.

“So what?” Matt asked, raising an eyebrow. “Out-of-towners are allowed to come and go as we please, aren’t we?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. You’re in my territory now, boy, and I’d appreciate it if you actually treated me with some respect.” The figure started to circle around them. “Name’s Ebon, and you happen to be in the middle of my territory. You wanna pass through, you’re gonna have to pay a toll. And you’d better hope that you _can,_ or else you’re gonna find yourself in debt to me.” Ebon paused in front of Maria. “That hoverboard. Where is it?”

“Why do you think you need it?” Maria replied, raising an eyebrow. “You can shadow travel from place to place; I highly doubt that you need something that will put you in broad daylight and leave you a sitting duck.”

“I need it because I want it. Now hand it over.”

Maria and Matt exchanged looks at the demand, raising eyebrows at each other. Matt looked somewhat amused while Maria had a more bored expression on her face in comparison.

They looked back at Ebon with these same expressions.

“I don’t think so,” Maria said. “You don’t need it, I do, and the only reason you want it is because I have it and you want to be able to claim that you own it.”

Ebon’s glowing white eyes narrowed. “Now listen here, kid, I don’t care what you and your boyfriend are doing here and—“

Matt’s brightly glowing, aura-covered fist slammed into the side of Ebon’s head, sending the Bang Baby flying into a collection of garbage can’s nearby.

“She’s my sister, man; gross!” Matt called after him.

Ebon snarled and pulled himself out of the garbage cans. His shadow-y hands morphed into something that resembled giant hammers. “In that case, I don’t feel so bad about pummeling you both!” He leapt towards them as Matt’s fingers started crackling loudly with Aura energy.

Maria, on the other hand, held out her right hand and summoned a burst of flames that turned into her bright red staff with the phoenix on the top. Bright yellow electricity crackled across the wood, and she slammed it into the ground in order to release it into the air. “Shock Wave!”

The resulting burst of electrical power sent Ebon flying back into the trash cans again with a yell of surprise.

“Don’t try that again,” Maria said, looking at Ebon with a disapproving, narrow-eyed expression. “We’re not here to deal with you riffraff and your petty gang wars. There are bigger things to worry about besides whether or not you’ll be able to hold onto the area of the city that you’ve claimed as yours.”

Ebon forced his way out from under the trash cans, growling at Maria and Matt as his fists shook with the need to punch something. He looked like he was about ready to lunge at them again, but then the sound of crackling electricity caused him to pause before retreating back into the darker confines of the alley behind him.

Maria relaxed, dismissing her staff as a young man with dark skin wearing a purple, black, white, and yellow outfit flew down on top of a trash can and landed on the ground not too far from where Maria and Matt were standing.

“Who are you two, if you don’t mind me asking? I haven’t seen you around here before.” The teenage boy walked around to stand in front of the two of them, looking Maria and Matt up and down with an interested expression. “I didn’t think that you’d have powers like I do. Name’s Static.”

“Flare-Up.” Maria tilted her head to one side as the boy’s eyes widened behind his mask. “And my brother is Aura Seeker. We’re from out of town.”

“…how far out of town?” Static asked.

“New York.” Matt shrugged.

“The big hero city?” Static blinked in surprise. “I didn’t think that you folks would be interested in coming out this far.”

“We have our reasons,” Maria replied casually. She felt a slight buzzing sensation at the back of her mind, but she ignored it. “Mostly because we wanted to see how you were doing out here.”

“…uh huh.” Static eyed the two of them with a wary expression. “What would a couple’a small-timers want to do with me?”

“It’s more like what you could do to help us,” Matt offered. “We’re trying to get a network of heroes together in case something big comes up that one hero can’t handle alone. It’d be sort of a ‘call-in’ basis with you, since you’re probably still in high school, but if anything comes up, say, in the middle of summer, then you could get called in to help with a few things.”

“That sounds too good to be true,” Static replied.

The buzzing sensation started to become more insistent at the back of Maria’s mind; she shook her head, but it didn’t stop, and that only caused her brow to furrow out of annoyance.

Matt noticed. “Maria…?”

“Hang on a moment. I think someone’s trying to get my attention.” Maria held up a hand and closed her eyes before focusing on where the buzzing sensation happened to be coming from.

**Maria’s POV**

My vision went black as soon as I closed my eyes, and the buzzing stopped short for a moment before two words rang through my head.

_*OK. I’m in.*_

The blackness behind my eyelids lightened into something else entirely: a bright blue, glowing space, with a pulsing blue-white grid that made the area I was standing in seem like a cube and a rectangular prism and a never-ending space all at once. Some of the squares looked similar to TV screens, playing memories from certain, important moments in my timeline.

I wasn’t focusing on those, however. My focus was on the teenage boy standing in front of me, wearing a green and white jumpsuit with a helmet over his head.

“Your hacking skills are commendable,” I said calmly. “However, I wish you wouldn’t try them on me, Richie ‘Gear’ Foley. That tingling sensation was not exactly pleasant, and if my systems had not recognized you, I can guarantee that the sensation of being booted out isn’t something you want to experience.”

I got a look of shock in response.

“Wh-who are you?” Richie squeaked. “And how do you know who I am?!”

“We’ve met before,” I replied.

“What? But I don’t—“

“You don’t remember because we met in another dime and another place. Your friend Virgil Hawkins met me at the same time. As for who I am…my name is Maria. You also knew me as Flare-Up.”

Gear blinked in confusion. “Uh…okay? Can you give proof that we’ve met before?”

“We’re standing in my memory core.” I motioned to the memories that were playing on the grid. “Pulling up Cybertronian-DC dimension, Dakota Entrance.”

The grid warped, turning into a street in Dakota – one I knew Gear would recognize. A version of me was already standing on the street as Static zipped by, going after the shadow-y figure of Ebon as he and Gear combated Ebon and his group.

“Ebon?” my double questioned. She frowned and sighed irritably. “Great. May as well make the most of it.” She ran forward and called up at Static, “Hey, kid! Need some help?”

Static looked down. “Look, as much as I would like it, I don’t think—“

“How is this possible?” Gear asked from next to me.

I froze the memory. “A shift in time and space caused this entire dimension to reset. Most forgot, but by coming into contact with me, the Continuum Shift is nullified enough that you can remember what happened.” I was tempted to let the memory keep going, but I figured that Gear had seen enough and shifted back to the grid.

He had. The look on Gear’s face when I mentioned the Continuum Shift had enough shock and recognition that I knew the memories were flooding back in. I waited for him to say something while he recovered from suddenly remembering again.

“Are the Dark Arms—“

“They aren’t causing trouble this time,” I said. Gear relaxed. “It’s Luthor.”

“Again?” Gear made a face.

“He doesn’t remember.” I shrugged. “Ergo, he does not remember me and has lapsed back into his old ways.” I paused. “Static doesn’t remember yet, either. He hasn’t come into physical contact with me. It has to be skin-to-skin – or his hand to mine, preferably. Stark high-fived me and got whacked in the face with his memories, so that would work just as well.”

“You do realize he could cause damage to your systems like that, right?”

Something shivered across the grid; purple flashes came and went out of the corner of my eye. “Too late for that. Get out!”

Gear yelped, and his form flickered and vanished before I pulled myself out of my mental hiding place, only to stumble back suddenly as purple electricity sparked from Static as he flung himself back, gripping the back of his neck with one hand and staring at me with wide, shocked eyes.

“What the heck was that?!” Static demanded as my vision fizzed from the energy he was releasing. “Did you just get in my head or something?!”

“Gear was in my head when you touched my hand.” I looked down and raised an eyebrow as my vision cleared. “Which probably means my brother goaded you into it, or something drew you to it. Either way, you now remember something that most of the rest of the world has completely forgotten about thanks to my own actions.” I looked at Static. “Now, about that offer. Do you want to be a founding member of the Justice League this time around or not?”

Gear dropped down from a nearby roof and landed as Static’s jaw dropped. “Wait – join the what? Please tell me you’re being serious about that.”

“Completely,” I replied without missing a beat. “Batman is a teenager in this timeline, so he is going to need some appropriately-aged backup if he ever finds himself taking a mission without a grown-up nearby.”

They both stared at me, disbelieving.

“You’re kidding,” Gear said flatly.

“Does it look like I am?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Err, uh…not really?”

I blinked. “Lex Luthor is up to something – probably bringing the Light back together from the previous timeline – and Superman is refusing to get other people involved because Lex Luthor is his problem and not anyone else’s.”

Static frowned; Gear looked startled.

“Well, that doesn’t sound right,” Static commented. “Wasn’t Supes the guy who was always open to people working together? What made that get turned around?”

Matt shrugged. “Not really sure on that; all I can remember is wandering around the streets of New York until Magneto found me – the Continuum Shift kinda wiped my head for a while there.”

“Well, whatever’s going on, you’re going to keep us in touch, right?” Static asked. “Because we can’t exactly leave when Ebon and the other Bang Babies are running around like absolute lunatics.”

“We’ll keep in touch,” I agreed. I reached into my subspace and pulled out a pad before writing down my number. “Here. I doubt your systems have my comm in it yet.”

“Oh, thanks!” Gear snatched the paper out of my hands. “I don’t remember if the number we have now is the exact same or not, so—“

I rattled off a couple numbers, causing the boys to stare at me. “Is that correct?”

“…yeah.” Static blinked. “Man, you really do have a good memory.”

“Have to.” I shrugged. “We’re going to keep moving and see about finding the others in the founding part of the League. Batman is already heading up into Metropolis with Nightwing in order to talk to Superman, so that leaves Flash, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and possibly others.”

“Aquaman,” Matt spoke up. “Don’t forget him.”

“Right; I doubt we will be able to go down to Atlantis in order to find him.” I paused, considering. “And Wonder Woman is going to be coming off her island and appearing somewhere on the coast.”

“Let’s keep going to California; I think that Hal Jordan’s home city is over there,” Matt suggested. “We might run into Aquaman over there, too, unless we hear otherwise.”

I nodded; Static and Gear nodded in agreement as well. “Sounds like a plan. We’ll leave you two to round up the Bang Babies here as best you can. Now knowing what you do know, I doubt that they’re going to be expecting anything from either one of you.” A smirk crossed my face, but it wasn’t a _nice_ smirk.

Static and Gear exchanged looks, then looked back at me with equally not-nice grins.

“They’re never gonna know what hit them,” Static said in confidence.

“Let’s go and see about taking care of some of them tonight before they can do anything to us.” Gear took off down the street, Static following right behind him.

I turned to look at Matt. “Want to go and help?”

“Sure, why not?” Matt grinned back. “We still have to find a place to spend the night.”


	9. Chapter 9

By the time that Maria and Matt had hit the West Coast, they had gotten more attention than they had been initially expecting – or would have liked for that matter.

Maria stuck her hands in her pockets and ducked her head as they entered the city that would be known in the future as the one where the Green Lanterns of Earth were revered. “Either our movements have been too obvious or someone has been going behind my back to make sure we’re known about.”

“I think it’s the first one,” Matt commented. “Stark’s been a little busy arguing with Richard Reed on the news, remember?”

Maria grunted in response as a few people looked in their direction. “About dimensional paradoxes and whether or not shifts in a timeline are possible without another person’s knowledge, yes. Stark knows it happened, but he doesn’t know how it happened – not even I do. While I may have been the one who caused it, I was only the instrument that reset the universe, not the one leading that to happen.”

Matt would have said something in response to that if the screaming hadn’t started.

The two World Jumpers stopped short and the sound and exchanged looks.

“Where?” Matt asked.

“Close to the bay,” Maria replied. She closed one eye, brow furrowing. “News crews are already in the area – Aquaman and Wonder Woman are in the bay and are being attacked by one of the local villains.”

“Sounds like we’d better get over there.”

“Agreed.” Maria bolted down a street, Matt quickly moving to keep up with his sister as they pushed people on the sidewalk out of their way. The yells of the people were barely heard by the two of them as they started to get into the more panicked streets, with people and cars trying to scramble away from the bay and the docks as the roads started to look more than a little wet.

Right before they were frozen, that is.

“Is it Mr. Freeze?” Matt asked as they slid around a corner.

Maria shifted to his armor and slid onto her hoverboard before pulling Matt on and continuing towards their destination. “No – he wouldn’t stray this far from Gotham. It’s most likely Captain Cold, one of Flash’s villains!”

“Then what’s he doing here?”

“The DC heroes have a tendency to share villains, remember? Even before the Justice League was formed, they hopped from hero to hero like employees go between jobs.”

Matt grumbled something under his breath, but Maria didn’t see that as something that needed to be commented on.

After they got past the crowds of people and vehicles trying to run from the bay and the surrounding area, Maria and Matt rather quickly came across the battlefield itself.

Matt whistled. “Looks like the ice age decided to come back and make sure we remembered about global warming.”

Maria snorted. “Captain Cold must have been stealing equipment and making a giant freeze ray before this happened. I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Great villains think alike?”

“Or steal ideas from great villains and make it look like they were the ones who came up with it. One of the two.”

Matt snorted in agreement. “Yeah. The least-intelligent ones, at least.”

The buildings and ground surrounding the docks were only covered in thicker and thicker sheets of ice as Maria and Matt moved further in; not even police crews wanted to get close to this area. The ice did level out and lessen by the time they reached the docks at the edge of the city, however, but that was only because of the large amounts of water that were covering the area.

And at the edge of the dock, Wonder Woman had just finished tying up a man wearing a rather fluffy blue and white coat with a furry hood while Aquaman stood nearby with an annoyed expression on his face. Behind him were the remains of some large machine that had tubes going into the bay and a smashed-up freeze cannon on the other end.

Maria’s and Matt’s arrival caused the two of them to look up and watch the two humans with suspicion as Maria and Matt landed.

“Who are you?” Wonder Woman asked, eyes narrowing.

“My name is Maria, and this is my older brother, Matthew.” Maria motioned to Matt, who gave a half-bow to Aquaman and Wonder Woman, who both blinked at him with guarded, but slightly surprised expressions. “We are known as Flare-Up and Aura Seeker to most people who happen to be around here.”

Aquaman frowned. “Are you allies with this one?” He nodded to the tied up villain between himself and Wonder Woman.

Maria shook her head. “We have allies elsewhere, but not with this one, no. People who decide to freeze an entire section of a single city for his own gains are not people I would be willing to partner up with.”

Matt nodded in agreement. “We stick around in places to stop people from doing things like that, not assist them. We only got here just today, though.”

“Why, then?” Aquaman stepped towards the two of them and looked down at them with a regal bearing that only a king would have. “Why have you come to this costal city of the humans? Have you perceived us to be troublesome?”

“Not at all, sir,” Maria replied. “In fact, I would be willing to say that you both are a part of the solution. Some of us are attempting to create a network of heroes – people who would be willing to work together against larger, more difficult opponents, while still being able to keep an eye on things back in their respective homes. Considering that Lex Luthor – a man who lives up in Metropolis on the east coast – is more than likely up to something because of the Avengers’ recent actions, we thought it might be a good idea to level the playing field against him and anyone who partners with him.”

Wonder Woman’s brow furrowed. “How dangerous is this ‘Lex Luthor’?”

“Depends.” I looked at Matt. “Heard anything about what he’s been up to?”

Matt shook his head. “He’s been quite for a few weeks now. I heard some of the other mutants in the Brotherhood talking about it, and it sounds like it’s been a while since Lex released any new technology or went to any charities. Whatever he has planned, it can’t be good. Or, it’s been a long time in coming and he wants to speed things up. I’m not sure.”

“Well, whatever the case, he’s likely teaming up with other villains to create that Light group he had in the previous timeline, before everything went down the drain with the Dark Arms.”

“Light?” Aquaman bristled instantly. “You know of the infernal group that my opponent has claimed an alliance to?”

Wonder Woman looked at him with a frown. “Your opponent?”

“Black Manta. He has been attempting to usurp my throne from underneath me for quite some time.” Aquaman’s expression darkened. “He halted his attacks recently, if only because he claimed that he had ‘seen the light’ and was seeking plans elsewhere. He told me that I was going to end up seeing the same in the future.”

Maria stiffened. Something flashed through the back of her mind – a dangerous flash of purple, green, and white, blank stares, and large computers. She shook her head as her jaw tightened and her glare sharpened on the others. “I think I know what sorts of allies Luthor and Manta have found together.”

Matt raised an eyebrow.

“Let’s just say that ‘seeing the light’ and ‘gaining all of the knowledge in the universe’ have more than one meaning in this instance.”

Matt’s eyes widened sharply. “Oh. You’re going to be teaching him a lesson again too, then?”

Maria’s eyes narrowed. “That’s one way of putting it.”

“Again?” Aquaman repeated. “What do you mean by that?”

“I doubt it would make much sense to you, but this world’s entire timeline has shifted from where it used to be initially.” Maria paused. “Because of certain events involving this world and worlds beyond this one, the timeline was forced to reset to something different. Most have forgotten what the old timeline was like as a result. Mostly. I don’t doubt that some of what happened before leaked through the cracks for some people and might cause them to slowly remember if they don’t come into contact with me.”

Wonder Woman eyed Maria with a curious air. “What sort of dreams?”

“Dark monsters, losing control of your own body, watching as multiple worlds from across dimensions are fused together into one unstable one.” Maria shrugged. “Some managed to escape the chaos in a satellite over one area of the World Collision. The rest did not, as far as I am aware.”

Wonder Woman considered that, then nodded. “I see. And this villain of whom you speak of? The one you intend to ‘teach a lesson’ to?”

“A computer program named Brainiac,” Maria replied. “I’ve defeated him before, in the previous timeline, but it seems that he might have forgotten it in crossing over to this timeline. I should not be all that surprised by that, but…well, I would have hoped that he would have remembered that I took away his ability to mind control others.”

“Just means he’ll make sure to remember this time around,” Matt said helpfully.

“Yes, well…that’s the hope.” Maria side-eyed her brother, then looked back at the two standing in front of them – three, counting the tied-up villain who was looking between all of them with an expression of confusion. “So, the alliance. Are you willing to assist us against Lex Luthor and Brainiac and whatever other villains who have decided to join up with him?”

Aquaman and Wonder Woman exchanged looks.

“Normally, I would refuse and return to my city to continue to rule it without human interference.” Aquaman frowned. “However, it seems that what happens in the world above is becoming more and more pressing on my own kingdom. If Black Manta is allying himself with the people here, then I will have to become involved in order to ensure that he will not cause further trouble for either parts of our world.” He nodded. “I shall ally myself with you.”

“As will I,” Wonder Woman added. “There are movements afoot here that will affect my home of Themyscira. I intend to stop them before they can move to my island.”

Maria nodded, then held out her hands. “I look forward to working with both of you, as do the others. Welcome to the Justice League.”

Wonder Woman and Aquaman hesitated for only a second before they took Maria’s outstretched hands. The buzzing sensation that was felt immediately afterwards caused all three of them to stiffen up.

Maria gave them a few seconds to recover their senses. “Batman is a teenager in this timeline, but he remembers the past – as does Nightwing. They’ve gone up to Metropolis to confront Superman and see what it is that Lex might be planning and why it is he is refusing to ask for help.”

Wonder Woman blinked, then frowned. “That is not like him.”

“I know. Considering that Brainiac might be involved, I don’t doubt that he might have something to do with this.”

“Who are you—“

Aquaman kicked the ice-themed villain in the head, causing him to fall to the ground, unconscious. “It’s always that super-computer that causes trouble in the end. We’ll have to do something about that.” He looked Maria and Matt over. “So, who have you reminded so far?”

“You two, Static, and Gear,” Maria replied. “As well as Charles Xavier, Wolverine, and Tony Stark from the other group of heroes that now live in this dimension.”

“The Cybertronians?” Wonder Woman asked.

Maria shook her head. “No sign of them other than a toyline. They must have been moved to a different dimension and replaced by the Avengers and the X-Men.”

“I see.” Wonder Woman paused. “You have not found Green Arrow or the Lantern yet.”

“No. My guess is the Lanterns are out in space elsewhere or haven’t made themselves known yet. I know Hal Jordan frequents this area of the west coast, but I haven’t seen any sign of his presence yet.”

Matt shrugged. “We don’t know where John is, either.”

“The Martian?” Aquaman tilted his head slightly, thoughtful. “Hm. Normally, it is his war on Mars that caused us to band together – I wonder what is happening up there now.”

“Hopefully we won’t find ourselves in the middle of an invasion,” Maria replied dryly.

“Or, maybe the Lanterns are taking care of that,” Matt suggested. “We won’t know until one of them shows up here. Or something. In the meantime, we should probably see about wrapping up hunting down everyone else – we still have the Flash to find out of the core of heroes who are here on Earth, and slowing him down is going to be difficult.”

“Not as difficult as you might think.” Wonder Woman looked more than a little annoyed. “Arthur, meet us at Metropolis. We’ll take care of Flash.”

**Time Break**

Getting to Flash’s home base was harder than it was finding him. All they had to do at that point was wait for the red blur to shoot by and for Wonder Woman to catch him.

Which she did.

“Hey!Wha—OW!” Flash skidded around the corner as Wonder Woman grabbed his arm and sent him smashing into a wall of a nearby building, stunning him for a second.

Then Maria tapped him on the shoulder as he started to pull away from the wall, causing him to be momentarily stunned again.

Flash shook his head and put a hand up against one temple, blinking a couple times. Then he noticed Maria and blinked blankly again. “…Bot Girl?”

Maria gained an annoyed expression. “You know I asked you not to call me that.”

Flash blinked, then grinned widely and let out a whoop before hugging Maria tightly. “You got out of there all right! Oh, man, when that white flash hit I thought that was the end of it! You have _no idea_ how much of a relief this is! Ha!” He pulled back, still grinning. “So, what, you just popped in to make sure I was still doing okay?”

“Lex Luthor is up to something and I believe it involves Brainiac,” Maria replied flatly. “And neither of them remember the Continuum Shift as far as I can tell. On top of that, the Justice League hasn’t become an official group yet. We’re working to rectify that.”

“Oh. Yeah, yeah, I can see how that’d be a problem. Where’s Bats, though? All I’ve heard about Gotham is that Nightwing’s running the rogues ragged.”

“Batman’s helping,” Matt replied. “He’s just a bit younger than he’d like to be. Sidekick age, actually.”

Flash stared at him. “You have got to be joking.”

“Nope. Seen him myself.”

Flash’s jaw dropped when Maria nodded in agreement. “Holy cow. Okay, I have _got_ to see this – where’s he at?”

“Metropolis, trying to convince Superman that helping him against Lex Luthor is a good idea.” Maria raised an eyebrow. “Lex hasn’t made any moves yet, but—“

“He’s been unusually quiet, yeah.” Flash nodded, tapping his chin in thought. “I’ll keep an eye on things – is Bat’s number still the same as it was when he was a--“

“Yes it is,” Maria replied. “I wouldn’t recommend calling him until after dark, though.”

“Because of social niceties and all that; got it.” Flash waved off Maria’s expression. “I remember, you don’t need to remind me.” He grinned. “I’ll keep an eye out for things; no worries. You guys go and meet up with him and make sure that computer maniac doesn’t pull anything on him when he’s not expecting it.”

“That’s the plan,” Maria replied. “We’ll see you on the East Coast.”

“See ya!” Flash chirped brightly. He took off with a blast of wind a moment later, leaving a red, blurry outline in his wake.

“Here’s hoping Hal shows up sooner or later,” Matt said.

“Agreed,” Wonder Woman said.

**Space Break**

A bag was pulled off his head, and Steve Rodgers blinked rapidly in order to adjust to the bright light.

“One kooky Cap, safely delivered with only a few bumps and bruises!” The man in the red and black vigilante uniform motioned elaborately to Steve. “Now, I believe you owe me something?”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get your swords in a twist.” Stark reached into the pocket of his suit and brought out a wad of cash before handing it over. “There. We done, Wade?”

“We done!” Deadpool gave off the impression he was grinning. “See you next time you need me for a job! And tell your little fiery friend that I said hi!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll do that.” Stark watched Deadpool dance off out of the room. “Friday, make sure he actually _leaves_ this time, will you? I’d rather not have him detour into the kitchen again. The _last_ time he left such a mess that no one wanted to set foot in there for two days.”

 _“Understood,”_ came a voice over the loudspeaker.

Steve blinked in blank confusion. “…what’s going on? Tony?”

Stark sighed and rolled his eyes melodramatically. “Yeah it’s me, Steve; I hope those truckloads of pills they had you on didn’t melt your brain – oh yeah. Right. Super serum keeps stuff like that from happening.” He walked over and helped Steve to his feet, tutting at the hospital gown Steve was wearing. “We’ll have to get you into something better than that.”

Steve pulled his arm out of Stark’s hand, frowning. “What are you up to? I thought the last time you saw me you’d said you didn’t want to see me until I was—“

“I know what I said, and I wasn’t right in the head.” Stark paused. “Okay, so I _was,_ but I just didn’t know that you still were.”

Steve stared at Stark with a confused expression for a moment before Stark’s words clicked. “You…you remember?”

“Yup! Well, Flare-Up made me – kid’s swung around again to check in and make sure we’re doing okay.”

Steve’s eyes widened sharply. “She what?”

“Yeah. She’s still around, helping Batman out with something.” Stark shrugged. “She’ll probably be coming back around soon, if what Lex is up to is any indication.”

It only took a moment for Steve to settle into a more determined stance, frowning. “You’d better fill me in on what’s going on, Tony, because thanks to you everyone in the medical community thinks that the serum did something to my mind as well as my body.”

“Not like I’m gonna tell them we’re all a little mad, but I’ll see what I can do.” Stark waved off Steve’s concern, but the look on his face said he was already thinking about how to get to the head medical minds and tell them that Steve wasn’t crazy in the head like everyone had thought. “All right. So here’s what’s been happening in the last few months….”


	10. Chapter 10

Maria and Matt were back in Dakota when they finally heard about what was going on in New York and the cities that were merged with it.

“…when I told him to get Captain America out, I wasn’t expecting him to do that,” Maria said flatly, frowning at the newspaper Static had handed her and Matt.

“Well, at least he isn’t being treated like a crazy lab rat anymore.” Gear looked over at them from where he was working on building a large technological contraption – it looked like it could have been a supercomputer. Since the two boys had managed to get their memories back, they had taken over what had been their old base in the previous timeline, and Gear had already gotten it to look somewhat organized and useful in the few days that Maria and Matt had been traveling to the west coast.

“I kinda wonder how they managed to get _that_ guy to get him out of there, though.” Static frowned at the picture that was on the front of the newspaper: a red and black blur armed to the teeth and carrying a man-sized bundle over one shoulder as he was running down the street. “I mean, isn’t Deadpool a bit…y’know?”

“If Stark was able to get Deadpool to do this, then he knows something or has connections,” Maria replied without looking up from the newspaper. “Deadpool, I mean.”

“I think I remember hearing something about Cap and Pool being on good terms with each other,” Matt commented. “So he could have given Stark a discount on any fees that he might have had to pay off to the mercenary for this.”

“Or decided just to not kill Stark afterwards,” Maria added.

Gear and Static stared at the two of them.

“You serious?” Gear squeaked.

“Deadpool is an unpredictable mercenary; I have no idea what goes through his head on a regular basis.” Maria put the newspaper down on the table in front of her. “But now the problem is that they’re going to consider Cap a dangerous outlaw on the run until proven otherwise.”

“I bet that whatever Luthor and Brainiac are up to will get that taken care of, if he swoops in and helps,” Matt offered. “Especially if you make them both break down in front of everybody.” He grinned widely, really liking that particular idea.

Maria gave Matt a dry look as Gear looked up sharply from his work and paled at the mention of the computer virus. “I would have to be in contact with them both first, and considering that Lex has not made himself seen on TV recently, that may be more difficult than the both of us would like.” She huffed. “I just hope that Batman can get from Superman the information we are going to need in order to stop Lex before things go too far. If he is already attempting to create the Light group from the previous timeline, things may go downhill faster than any of us would like.”

“Yeah, geez.” Static rubbed the back of his neck frowning. “I still remember those Reach guys. I hope they’re not coming _back.”_

“If they are, they’re going to learn to fear me just as much as Lex Luthor did.” Maria’s voice was grim.

The three boys exchanged looks at Maria’s response.

“…well then.” Gear ducked back into his work. “Maria, does your, uh, hoverboard need any maintenance? You have been using it pretty recently.”

Maria blinked at the question, then tiled her head slightly. “I have been pushing it rather hard. Some maintenance before we return to New York might be wise.”

Maria reached up onto her back and pulled off the red and orange metal box from her back; it unfolded into her hoverboard, and she pushed it over to Gear as it hovered of its own power.

Gear reached out and caught it before pulling the hoverboard out of sight. A moment later, Maria could hear the sound of tools getting to work; Maria decided not to think about what he was up to, knowing that she could trust Gear to do what he needed to do.

Static glanced at the clock on the wall and winced. “Oops. Pops was expecting me home fifteen minutes ago – I’d better get moving. You gonna need a ride, Richie?”

“Huh?” Gear looked up. “No, no, I-I’ll be fine. Dad thinks I’m spending the night at a friend’s house.”

“You haven’t told him?”

“You have?” Matt pointed out.

“Well, he…he kinda figured it out in the other timeline, so.” Static shrugged. “I told him before he could get into trouble this time.”

“And there’s no way my dad would take it well, new timeline or not,” Gear added. “I mean, he’s mad enough that I’m friends with V.”

“Oh, yeah….forgot about that.” Matt winced. “He’ll learn. Eventually.”

“Yeah. I sure hope so.” Gear’s expression sombered, and he went back to working on Maria’s hoverboard.

“So how well is Mr. Hawkins taking it?”

“Pretty well, considering that I know where I can find my son when he’s late for dinner.”

The three boys stiffened at once at the adult male’s voice; Maria inclined her head at the voice, then turned and looked at the entrance to the abandoned gas station.

“Mr. Hawkins.” Maria rose to her feet and nodded to the man in greeting. “I’m Maria, or Flare-Up. This is my brother Matthew, or Aura Seeker.”

“Virgil’s two new friends, then.” The man in the door looked the two of them over. “You two the ones who have made him grow up so fast?”

“Made him remember growing up,” Maria corrected. She paused. “I’m…not sure if I can do the same for you – cause you to remember what did happen and hasn’t happened, like I have for Static. That ability only goes so far, and I doubt that you will want to remember why the timeline has shifted.”

“From what Virgil has told me, I doubt that I need to know what happened in order to understand it,” Mr. Hawkins replied. He paused. “How old are you, young lady?”

“My exact age is unknown, if only because of the flux in time between dimensions.” Maria paused. “My home dimension says that I am 38. Other than that…I am uncertain.”

Static whistled. “Whoa.”

“Which makes me 39…I guess.” Matt rubbed the back of his head. “Geez, going home is going to feel weird. Is Collin—“

“Married and has kids,” Maria responded without missing a beat.

Matt blinked a couple times at that, looking startled. “Holy scrap.”

“So, what do you two plan on doing here if you have family back wherever it is you came from?” Mr. Hawkins frowned at the two of them. “As far as I’m aware, all you’re doing here is getting a group of heroes together when a group already exists.”

“The Avengers can’t be everywhere,” Maria replied. “The Justice League isn’t a group that is going to live in the same place – they may have a headquarters in the future they will be able to meet at, but they are going to remain in their respective cities and only come for backup when the others need it. Since Virgil and Richie are still teenage boys, they probably won’t be called in often unless it’s something they will be capable of disabling. I could see them working together to stop mechanical weaponry in ways that others might not be able to.”

Static and Gear exchanged looks behind her at that; Mr. Hawkins raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else.

“The idea is to have them work in similar circles, but one is connected with the military and one isn’t,” Maria put it simply. “The Justice League didn’t operate as a branch of the army in the original timeline; they worked _with_ the government, not under it. Considering there was a Martian and a king of an underwater city not affiliated with the United States as a part of their original roster, I doubt they would be able to place themselves in such a position.”

Mr. Hawkins blinked at that, then looked over at Static, who nodded as Gear finally came back up with Maria’s hoverboard.

“Everything looks like it’s running okay; I just replaced some of the wiring and rerouted some of the power. It should be a bit more efficient now – and maybe faster, too, but I wouldn’t be able to say that for sure without taking it out for a spin.” Gear handed the hoverboard back to Maria.

Maria nodded as the device folded itself back up. She moved to put it against her back, and it settled in between her shoulder blades like it belonged. “Thanks, Gear. This will help against whatever is coming in the long run.”

Gear nodded. “That’s the plan, yeah. You planning on heading back to New York tonight or—“

“That is too far of a distance for the two of you to be making at this time of day,” Mr. Hawkins said sternly. “You two need a place to spend the night, and it will not be in this dump.”

Maria and Matt exchanged looks at Mr. Hawkins’ statement, gauging the other’s reaction. After a moment, Matt looked back at Mr. Hawkins.

“I don’t think either one of us would be against a place to spend the night,” Matt said lightly.

Mr. Hawkins nodded. “Good. You kids will be coming home with me, then – you too, Richie; I don’t expect you to stay out here all night doing…whatever it is you’re doing.” He eyed the contraption Gear was working on with an uncertain expression.

“It’s just something that I’m planning on using to track Bang Baby movements,” Gear replied with a grin. “Now that I know what made up the gas we breathed in and what it can do to a human’s genetic structure depending on how a person’s brain is wired, then I can use the after-effects to track people like Matt can with his aura thing.”

“It’s not going to be completely perfect,” Matt pointed out.

“I know, but it’s a start. And hey – I can get to work on making sure this stuff stays permanent for me and V-man, too. Wouldn’t exactly be much help to the JL if we lost our powers because someone found a way to make an antidote. Which isn’t gonna be for a while, but still.”

“Don’t you kids want to be able to live a normal life?” Mr. Hawkins pointed out with a frown.

“Pops, we’ve been with these powers for so long it’s kinda hard to imagine what life would be like without them,” Static replied. “That, and how much of a help are we gonna be if there’s only tons more people wandering around out there, trying to do things that we can stop? I told you – there’s more problems that’ll spring up if we just leave things to the authorities. We know how to deal with Ebon and Hot Streak and every other twisted ganger out there who got caught up in this – let us handle it and get these guys to places that we know will be able to at least contain them for a bit.”

“And I know the antidote, so if I just slip it to people and drop hints over a long enough period of time and in different ways, they’re not going to be able to trace it back to me,” Gear added. “We’ve got a plan, Mr. H. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

Mr. Hawkins looked at the two boys for a moment longer, then sighed and shook his head. “Well, you kids seem to have a better handle on things than you did a few weeks ago, I’ll give you that. Just promise me you’ll stay out of trouble that you can’t handle, or make sure that you get the cops’ attention when you do move in.”

“Don’t worry, Pops.” Static grinned. “We’re old hats at this.” He paused when Mr. Hawkins sent him a pointed look. “But we’ll make sure that if anything big happens, the local cops’ll know, kay?”

“And that won’t be a problem, since Backpack’s rigged into their radio signals again,” Gear added helpfully. He punched Static in the shoulder playfully. “Come on; let’s go get some grub, I’m famished.”

“Yeah.” Static nodded in agreement. “Oh, Pops – how are we gonna explain to Sharon—“

“Leave that to me, son.” Mr. Hawkins smiled kindly. “The car’s waiting outside – come on.”

**Time Break**

“You were doing what?” Sharon frowned at Virgil with an annoyed expression.

“Showing Richie’s cousins around our usual spots.” Virgil motioned to Maria and Matt, who gave nods in greeting to Sharon as she looked over at the two of them. “They’re just passing through and we figured they’d want a place to spend the night for a bit, ya know?”

“Why not spend the night over at their uncle’s place, then?” Sharon responded, frowning.

“I don’t think he’d like us very much,” Matt replied. “We’re—“

“—from a part of the family he doesn’t talk to very much,” Richie finished quickly. “So I don’t think he’d want them anywhere near the house.”

Sharon blinked, still looking suspicious. “Well…all right, then. But you’d better not cause any trouble for these two – they’re still in school.” She paused. “Are you two—“

“We graduated from high school a couple years back,” Matt replied casually. “We won’t cause any trouble while we’re here tonight; I promise.”

“Good.” With that, Sharon turned on her heel and started up the stairs towards her room. “I’m gonna call Adam. Don’t come and bother me.”

As soon as the door slammed shut, the others in the living room exchanged looks.

“She doesn’t know she’s dating Rubberbandman yet, does she?” Maria raised an eyebrow.

Virgil shrugged as Mr. Hawkins looked at them sharply. “Hey, he hasn’t pulled anything yet. We’re keeping an eye on him, though. Just in case. Dropping hints about how criminal records and the fact that revenge isn’t the answer and how that could make things go a bit differently between him an’ Sharon. I liked working with him when he wasn’t so much of an idiot.”

Richie nudged his friend meaningfully.

“You know what I mean.” Virgil waved off his friend’s response.

“…all right, filling me in on some future events that you _could_ run into is one thing, but I would appreciate a chance to talk to you two boys about what could happen now that you _know_ what’s coming.” Mr. Hawkins looked at them with expressions of disapproval. “I don’t want to see Sharon get mixed up in the trouble that you boys are creating.”

“Don’t worry, Pops; RB-Man is as far as she’s gonna get as far as we’re concerned,” Virgil replied. “But if you wanna know how bad things could get – or did get – I wouldn’t mind filling you in on what we got up to.” He grinned. “Hey, Matt, Maria – wanna give me a hand? You probably remember some of the stuff we got up to, too.”

“We can help with the Cybertronian stuff, sure,” Matt replied with a grin. “Since we were there for that. Everything else, though, you should probably be the one to tell him. Cartoon or not in our home dimension, while our memories are good, it’d be better if he heard it from you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Virgil made his way over to the living room. “Come on, Pops; you’ve got a lot of catching up to do!”

“And don’t leave anything out,” Mr. Hawkins said sternly.

“I won’t; I won’t. Just, uh…don’t get mad at me for what happened in the past, okay? I’ve done _a lot_ of stuff.”

“Only if you promise to inform me if you get into anything more dangerous than dealing with the people here in Dakota,” Mr. Hawkins replied.

Virgil chuckled nervously. “Uh…it can get to be pretty dangerous too here, Pops….”

Maria and Matt exchanged knowing looks as they moved to follow Virgil, Richie, and Mr. Hawkins into the living room.

“Your son has done incredible work, Mr. Hawkins,” Matt said. “But he has been put into dangerous situations as a result of them. The fact that Batman in the original timeline saw him as someone to work side-by-side with – and possibly bring into the Justice League itself someday – is definitely something to take into consideration.”

Mr. Hawkins raised an eyebrow at the mention of Batman.

“Batman had the level of fame that Nightwing does now,” Maria explained. “Even if their roles are reversed when it comes to mentor and mentoree in this timeline, however, Batman is still someone to be respected.”

“I’ll take that into consideration,” Mr. Hawkins replied. “Now – what exactly is it that you kids have been up to?”

“A lot would be an understatement,” Virgil replied with a dry grin.

**Maria’s POV**

Mr. Hawkins took Virgil’s and Richie’s story…surprisingly well, considering that he was hearing about things that either hadn’t happened yet or probably would never happen at all in this timeline. They went over the initial beginnings of the Bang Baby events – which had taken place a few months ago – as well as the man who was behind the creation of the gas.

One of the differences that I hadn’t known about between timelines was that Richie had actually been present at the gang fight, pulled into it by Francis, or “F-Stop,” now known as Hot Streak. He had been apparently looking for new meat, or a way to level the playing field against Virgil, and had forced Richie to come along.

Something else had been Virgil’s initial reaction to Mr. Hawkins’ comment about them changing into something beyond what they were now – Richie tested them both against the gas and found they had been affected only by a small enough amount that they weren’t going to change further.

“If we had breathed in more than we did, I bet that Verge would’a turned into some kind of electric ghost and I would’ve merged with a computer or something.” Richie shrugged, looking sheepish. “Either that, or we were one of the lucky ones who really didn’t need to worry about any more physical changes other than what we got. I really don’t want to test that theory.”

The movements of the other “Bang Babies” had been pretty similar up until the point that Matt and I had popped into town, however; already, people around Dakota know who Static was, knew what he was up to when it came to stopping the metahumans in town, and knew that there was something suspicious about the gas itself and that it was connected to higher places – according to rumor, at least.

Virgil’s confirmation of Edwin Alva’s involvement in the gas’ creation and the subsequent cover-up made Mr. Hawkins look like he wanted to punch something, which I didn’t blame him for.

“And now that we’ve got our memories of the other timeline, now we can keep an eye out for the other Bang Babies who haven’t shown up just yet,” Virgil said. “RB-Man’ll need some convincing to come over to our side of things – mostly because Ebon’s his brother – but I think we’ll be able to talk some sense into him. We just gotta corner them both and get RB to rethink what he’s doing. Maybe mentioning Sharon a couple times will get him to think about it for a bit.”

“You didn’t seem all that happy with Sharon’s choice of a boyfriend before,” Mr. Hawkins commented, frowning. “What changed your mind?”

“Got to know the guy. Or will.” Vigil made a face. “Man, the fact that I’m remembering things that haven’t happened yet really gives me a headache.”

“Welcome to a cheater’s version of time travel,” Maria commented dryly. Richie chuckled in response.

“As for the rest of them….” Virgil rubbed the back of his head. “Honestly, it’s either we give them something else to do to get them to _stop_ or just cure them and do something to make sure they never get their powers back. Ebon and Hot Streak are both pretty rotten to the core, so I don’t think any help for them is really gonna be all that useful in getting them turned around.”

“What makes you think that?”

“When we got an opportunity to get the gas reversed, Adam was pretty happy with it,” Richie explained to Mr. Hawkins. “Ebon and Hot Streak weren’t, among others. Since the solution was in the air, Verge and I were losing ours too, but that didn’t stop us from tracking them to the docks to try and stop them from setting off a second Big Bang.”

“It still went off,” Static commented. “And they just went right back to running around, but with _boosted_ powers instead. And then they got merged together because of the gas – which was terrifying to go up against.”

“I remember that,” Matt commented. “I was going to come around and help you guys deal with that, but Batman had me looking into other things.”

“Yeah, we kinda figured. It’s all cool, though.” Richie offered Matt a fist to bump, which he did. “At least they’re separate again in this timeline and not some big gooey lava monster. I don’t think the town would survive long against something like that.”

“The, uh…World Collision thing happened not long after that,” Virgil added. “And then everything went sideways for a bit before Maria hit the big reset button and set the world up like it is now. And now, we get to go through this stuff all over again.”

“But we’re gonna be better about it this time,” Richie said.

“Yeah. Stay on top of things more, make sure that anything those bozos come up with gets shot down before they can put anybody in danger.” Virgil grinned at Richie, and the two of them fist-bumped. “And we’re in the big leagues this time!”

“Yeah. Hopefully whatever’s going on isn’t gonna have Brainiac coming here again.” Richie rubbed the back of his neck and shuddered.

“If he tries, he will have to go against me, first.” I looked at the others with a stern expression. “Brainiac and Luthor are not getting away with what they attempted in the last timeline. Not this time.”

Something about the tone of my voice made Mr. Hawkins look at me strangely. I decided against thinking about it. It wasn’t something that I had to be worried about right now. Lex Luthor and Brainiac were my focus.

And whatever it was they were planning, they were not going to get far.


	11. Chapter 11

Luthor didn’t look up from his work as he put the final pieces of his little personal project together. His face was slack, but there was a keen light in his eyes that would have made anyone else uneasy.

Especially since there was a green tint to them.

 _This Vandal Savage has been of great use to me,_ came a thought from the back of his mind. Luthor knew it wasn’t his thoughts, but they may as well have been. After all, they were in his voice, in a way. The ideas were his. But this…higher being…was what was driving him to act on them. _His plans…they bring so much knowledge of Earth and its history. I shall be sure to take what I need from his mind to make my database more complete._

Luthor bobbed his head in response to the thought, then stepped back from his – the voice’s – project. He inspected it, walking around the device and ensuring that everything had been put together as was needed.

 _It is complete,_ the voice said, and Luthor couldn’t help but feel pleased because the voice was pleased.

Something else tried to rise up at the back of his mind – a sense of panic, a sense that something was horribly horribly wrong – but it was silenced within moments.

 _Everything is as it should be and as it will be,_ the voice insisted. _Now, there is some knowledge that I seek that has yet to be gathered and brought to us._

Luther felt something become apparent in his mind – a sudden need to find something, a sudden need to require _information._

_Find it._

Luthor put his tools down and moved out of his lab. He would find the information he was looking for. He was going to make sure of that.

**Space Break**

Richie woke up the next morning screaming and gripping his head like it was about to explode. The noise woke Maria and Matt up from their sleep at once.

“Richie!” Matt scrambled across the living room to where Richie had been sleeping on the couch as Virgil came scrambling downstairs from his room. “It’s okay, man, it’s okay. You’re not—“

“It wasn’t a Dark Arms nightmare.” Richie gasped for air. “I-I thought I felt _him_ in my head. For a second.”

The mood in the room shifted from concern to a grim dread as the others’ expressions darkened.

“How?” Maria asked. “I didn’t sense him attempting to invade my thoughts during the night.”

Richie shook his head. “I-I don’t know. It just…I could feel him crawling all over my brain and trying to pick it apart and –“ He shuddered. “Oh, _God_ I don’t want to feel that again.”

Maria’s expression darkened. “…he must be on the move.”

“On the move?” Virgil looked over at Maria sharply. “You don’t mean – Luthor’s finally starting to—“

“It makes the most sense, doesn’t it?” Maria looked over the others in the room for a moment. “I’m going to make a call. If Batman doesn’t know already, he will soon.”

Mr. Hawkins came into the room. “What happened?”

“Nightmare,” Matt explained as Maria moved into a corner of the room. She put her left hand up against her ear as the others helped to calm Richie down.

Sharon came down with an annoyed expression, still in her pajamas. “What was that all about? What’s going on?”

“Nightmare,” Matt explained, motioning with his head to Richie as Virgil rubbed circles into his friend’s back.

At the same time, Maria got her connection through to the phone she was aiming for.

_::Hello, Bruce Wayne speaking::_

“It’s Flare-Up,” Maria said. “I’m with the Dakota kids; that computer virus is probably on the move again.”

Sharon looked over at Maria sharply, frowning.

 _::…I see::_ Bruce’s voice dropped slightly, taking on a more growling tone of voice.

“How are things going with the Boy Scout?”

_::Haven’t been able to find him. Either he’s been caught himself or something else has gotten his attention. Either way we haven’t crossed paths::_

“If he’s been insisting on working alone it’s probably the former.” Maria paused when she saw Sharon’s increasingly suspicious glare. “Matthew and I will be coming back today; my hoverboard’s had some upgrades, so I should be able to reach the east coast by late tonight.”

_::Not if you bring Gear and Static with you. I’m coming now::_

Bruce hung up, and Maria lowered her hand with a grim expression.

“What was that?” Sharon asked coldly.

“Contacting a friend.” Maria looked over at the others, ignoring Sharon. “We’re getting a ride to New York.”

Virgil looked up sharply at that. “We what?”

“Things are starting to get more dangerous; we’re going to need as much assistance as we can, and considering that you two have been pitted up against you-know-who before….”

Maria’s words caused Virgil and Richie to exchange looks, then look back at Maria before barreling out of the room and out of the house.

“What’s going on here?” Sharon frowned. “Daddy, do you know what’s—“

“I do,” Mr. Hawkins replied. “But I don’t think you’re quite ready to hear about it yet.”

“What? Daddy—“

“No. Virgil will tell you in his own time, and not before.” Mr. Hawkins looked over at Maria and Matt. “This has something to do with that.”

Maria nodded. “An enemy’s on the move. It’s better to meet him head-on than let him become more dangerous like he did last time. I don’t intend to let him do as he likes in this timeline.”

“Definitely not,” Matt agreed. “We’ll make sure he stays out of Dakota this time, and doesn’t get anywhere beyond Metropolis.”

“Who are you talking about?” Sharon frowned.

“No one of consequence to you.” Maria waved Sharon’s glare off.

“Hey, Flare, Seeker!” came Virgil’s voice from the door. “We gotta go now!”

“Coming!” Matt called back. He nodded to Mr. Hawkins. “Thanks for letting us stay the night.”

“Considering what it is that you kids are going to be up do, I think a good night’s rest did you some good,” Mr. Hawkins replied. “Now get going – I don’t think that it would do to keep this waiting.”

Maria and Matt nodded in agreement, then slipped out of the Hawkins’ home, leaving a rather disgruntled Sharon behind them.

Out on the main street, there was a black van waiting for them already. Bruce was sitting in the back seat with the window down.

“Get in,” he said with all the seriousness his teenage body could muster.

Virgil and Richie – who were in their costumes – blinked blankly at Bruce as Maria opened the door on the other side of the vehicle and slid into the back, Matt following suit.

“Come on,” Maria called from the back. “Get. In.”

Static and Gear exchanged looks, then climbed into the van without a word. And they didn’t so much as say a word until they were in the private plane at the private airport and taking off for New York.

“When Maria said you’d been turned into a teenager, I thought for a second that she was kidding,” Static said as the plane leveled out.

Bruce’s eyes narrowed.

“I-it’s cool, man! It just means you can have longer to do the hero thing, ya know?” Static gave a nervous, laugh, then quickly looked away from Bruce as the glare persisted.

“S-so, what’s going on with Lex and Superman?” Gear asked. “I-I mean, we know Brainiac’s involved, but—“

“Brainiac is up to his old tricks again, sounds like.” Tony Stark wandered out of the pilot’s cabin with a drink in his hand and a serious look on his face. “Don’t worry about the plane; it’s on autopilot for one of my personal air fields; we’re not gonna be bothered.” He sat down near the rest of the group. “Hey, Maria. Got Cap out.”

“I noticed,” Maria replied. “I wasn’t expecting you to fall back on the Merc with a Mouth.”

“Yeah, well, that was a more elegant solution than staging a breakout for all the crazy kooks in the looney bin. I just wanted the one that was easily the least crazy out of all of them. He says ‘hi,’ by the way.”

Maria gave Stark a deadpan look, but he ignored it in favor of finishing off his drink.

“Lex Luthor’s business claimed that he was on vacation, but his databanks show that he hasn’t made any payments for flights out of the country or even out of the city,” Bruce said. “And there have been a large amount of payments made towards materials that are experimental or possibly even alien in origin. Whatever it is that Luthor is building, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be beneficial to mankind.”

“Aquaman said that Black Manta was teaming up with Lex,” Matt spoke up. “He said something about Manta saying he’d ‘make the world see the light’ or something like that. I’m pretty sure that has something to do with Brainiac and what he usually does.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Bruce replied. “I think there may be hints that Superman has been taken under Brainiac’s control, so we will have to be careful when confronting him.”

“Have any Kryptonite?” Maria asked.

“No. Not yet.” Bruce paused. “But I know where I can get some.”

“It’s either we do that or get him distracted while Static gets close enough to zap the tech,” Matt commented.

“More like tie him down,” Static responded. “Have you _seen_ how strong that guy is? There’s no way I’d be able to get close enough, especially with how his senses and his speed are!”

“What makes you think this kid could handle Brainic’s stuff?” Stark asked.

“I’m a walking electro magnet when I want to be,” Static replied. “Brainiac tried to get into my head before and it didn’t stick; he tries again, and I guarantee that ain’t gonna stick either.”

Stark blinked at that. “What, really?”

“It’s how I avoided getting stuck by the alien freaks.”

Stark stared at Static with an impressed expression. “Huh.”

“So, what are we gonna do when we land?” Gear asked. “I mean, this is _Superman_ and _Lex Luthor_ we’re talking about – on top of who knows how many other villains from across the country!”

“Or across the world,” Matt added.

“Ugh, I don’t even want to think about that.”

“We need to find where they’re meeting,” Bruce said. “Alfred and I did some digging and found that Clark Kent still makes a regular appearance at the Daily Planet. Every time we were there, however, he was absent. We’ll need to speak to Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen in order to figure out whether or not someone is covering for Clark while he’s gone.”

“Wait.” Static blinked. “You’re saying that Clark Kent and Superman are the same guy?”

“What better way to get to the action and help people than be one of the new media outlets?” Matt replied. “If his super-hearing doesn’t pick anything up, they will.”

“Huh.” Static blinked, thoughtful. “Guess that’s one way to do it.”

“Are you sure talking about this is a good idea in front of him?” Gear motioned to Stark.

“All the security cameras in this part of the plane are off and I made sure that if there are any listening devices in this plane I disabled them myself,” Stark replied without missing a beat. “You’re welcome to check my work over when we land, but honestly? I’ve got no use for secret IDs. All it does is let me know who to send stuff to if I think he needs anything.”

Bruce didn’t look like Stark’s comment deserved a response. “Virgil, Richie – you will go to the Daily Planet when we land, _not in costume._ ”

The two boys exchanged looks as Stark stared at them.

Static sighed irritably. “ _Fine._ ”

“Playing the part of a tourist looking for a tour?” Gear tilted his head in thought. “Yeah, sure, we can do that.”

“Maria, Matt – Luthor’s building.”

“You want us to sneak in?” Matt asked.

“Outside observation,” Bruce replied flatly. “We don’t want a repeat of last time.”

“Last time?” Gear repeated, looking over.

“Batman had me go into Luthor’s labs and I was nearly assimilated by Brainiac,” Maria replied flatly. “And I nearly killed myself attempting to defend myself from the Brainiac-controlled Luthor and Megatron.”

Matt winced. “Yeah, that wasn’t a good day.”

“Considering that Wildfire looked about ready to murder me myself for that, no it wasn’t.” Maria grunted.

“Diana and Arthur will be in the area to help, as will Bart,” Bruce added. “Be discreet; do _not_ give yourselves away.”

“What are you gonna do?” Static looked over at Bruce and tilted his head curiously.

Bruce’s expression soured at the question. “I…have other social engagements to attend. I’ll be gathering information in my own way; Nightwing will be nearby if you need him.”

“He’s gonna be with me and his parents all day,” Stark explained brightly. “Some sort of role model idea to show Brucie how I run a company or something.”

“If you mention Iron Man to them, they’re not going to see you as much of a role model,” Bruce growled. He looked ruffled at Stark’s “nickname” for him. “They have been keeping up with the Avengers Initiative, and I doubt they are going to want you to show me your workshop.”

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist, kid, I know what I’m doing.”

Bruce’s eyes narrowed at Stark’s rather flippant response. He sighed irritably and leaned back in his plane seat. “Fine.”

Static and Gear exchanged looks at Bruce’s response, then looked over at Maria with semi-wide eyes.

Maria rolled her eyes and shrugged in response. “Don’t worry about it. They’re always like this; the age dynamic simply makes things…different.”

The two boys looked a little dumbfounded at that, but didn’t question it for the rest of the flight as they discussed the specifics of what they were going to be doing when they arrived in Metropolis. The whole time, Bruce sent occasional, annoyed glares at Stark, but he didn’t voice any annoyed opinions about what social calls he was going to be subjected to.

By the time they landed in Stark’s personal airfield, they had the plan memorized and were as prepared as they could be.

There was a chance that Lex Luthor could make a move. But the look on Maria’s face suggested she was more than ready for anything Lex or Brainiac could throw at them.


	12. Chapter 12

Maria leaned against the corner of the building, looking across the street and at the tall skyscraper that towered over the rest of the building in that area.

The giant green “L” logo on the front of the building felt more eerie and imposing than it probably would normally, but Maria wasn’t about to voice that comment.

“Staring at the building isn’t going to help.”

Maria didn’t turn and look back at the person who had spoken. “I am not about to step inside. I may have my signature hidden, but he can and will sense me if he focuses his sensors hard enough. The fact that I’m immune to his control will only intrigue him enough to keep me prisoner until he’s found a way to break me.” Maria’s eyes narrowed. “Which won’t happen.”

“Bruce is right; you’ve changed rather drastically from who you were when I saw you last.” Diana put a hand on Maria’s shoulder. “You’ve seen things you shouldn’t have seen at your age.”

Maria turned her gaze away from the building they were set to observe, and away from the Amazon behind her. “…I’ll manage.”

“I would argue that you are not,” Diana pointed out gently in reply. “But I am not going to say that we should sit and speak of this now.”

Maria grunted in response.

“What’s been happening here so far?”

“I haven’t tapped into their communication network – too risky, with Brainiac there. Even with my immunity, I don’t want him to know I’m here. Not yet.” Maria inclined her head. “It’s been businessmen and women coming and going all day. According to what I’ve been able to look up on each of them, they’re all connected to other businesses that have shady underbellies. Some are more than likely connected to the ‘Light’ allies that Luthor has managed to find.” Maria paused. “I always found it odd that the villains were able to get the money for their schemes, depending on who they are. I suppose it would make sense that they would have connections to businesses in one form or another.”

“Having the connections that Bruce has was helpful for us as well,” Diana commented. “Although, that might make things more difficult for us in this timeline.”

“I’m sure he’ll find a way to dig up a few ‘anonymous donors’ who would be more than willing to help. I’m certain that there is at least one ‘philanthropist playboy’ who would be willing to play that part when the time comes.”

Diana snorted. “We shall see.” She reached over Maria’s shoulder and handed her a $20. “Go get yourself something to eat; I can watch things here for now.”

Maria frowned, but she wordlessly took the bill and started to make her way down the street to the nearest café. It was about the middle of the day, and hanging around the same place for hours may not have caused her to gain all that much of an appetite, but that didn’t mean that eating was a bad thing.

In minutes, Maria was sitting in the back corner of a café, watching the local, usual patrons as she gnawed away on one of the sandwiches and fruit smoothie sitting nearby.

A _ding_! went off at the back of her mind, and Maria held her left hand to her ear and closed one eye, frowning.

A notification in green text appeared in the blackness of the one closed eye: “Talking to Lois now. Don’t know what V said, but he got her to open up.”

Maria inclined her head slightly at that, then sent back a text of her own. _::The two of you are smarter than you would be normally. You’ve interacted with Superman before; he must have known what needed to be said::_

It took a moment for Gear to respond. “Yeah, probably. She’s been covering for Clark’s absences because he asked her to. Gone undercover. Or something.”

_::Which is the excuse he gave for his absence; not necessarily the truth::_

“Probably. He could have also actually gone undercover to investigate Luthor’s business and didn’t come back when he said he would.”

_::Either way, this has Brainiac written all over it::_

“Yeah. Anything on your end yet?”

_::I have seen businesses that have connections with the other members of what will be the Light coming and going from his building. No one else. Diana is watching right now::_

“Hmm….keep watching the building. Get inside if you can without setting Brainiac off. We need more information, and sitting out here and just waiting for something to happen isn’t helping us get any closer to finding Superman.”

_::Understood::_

Maria finished what she had paid for and made her way back down the street towards where Diana was waiting at Maria’s original position.

Diana was standing more stiffly than she had been when Maria returned.

Maria saw why in an instant, and summoned her staff before tapping the back of Diana’s neck.

The green circle of circuitry fizzed and spat, then came flying off as Diana slumped over for a moment before straightening up with a shake of her head. At the same time, Maria caught the mind control device and crushed it in one hand. She felt something try to dig into her palm, but it didn’t get very far.

Maria set the circuitry aflame and dropped it to the sidewalk as Diana turned and looked at her. Her gaze went do the thing on the sidewalk, and her eyebrows shot up.

“You are much quicker on the draw than he was expecting,” Diana commented. “I believe he thinks you a cyborg of some kind.”

“Well, he isn’t entirely wrong.” Maria looked over at Luthor’s skyscraper. “But it means that he’s on to us. He’s invaded our mental territory; perhaps we should invade his.”

“And how would you suggest that?” Diana raised an eyebrow.

“I’m going to ring the doorbell,” Maria replied dryly. “It’s likely they already know that I’m here because of me removing the device from you; I’m just going to make sure that they know who exactly it is they’re going up against.”

“That could blow our cover.”

“When I pulled Brainiac off the back of your neck, we already did.”

Maria moved around Diana and moved towards the edge of the sidewalk, put her hands on her hips, and dropped her core’s shielding.

No one on the street stopped moving to look over at Maria. Diana frowned.

“What did you do?” Diana asked.

“Revealed what I am to anyone who has the technology to sense electronic life signatures.” Maria turned and looked back at Diana. “Brainiac now knows that I am here. And so does anyone else who has the technology to sense something similar to what I am.”

“That is quite the risk.”

“I know. But it is a risk that I am presently forced to take. Unshielding myself like this lets Brainiac know that I am aware of him, and I am not afraid of him.”

“Or he may think you foolish,” Diana pointed out.

“If he does not remember who I am, that is what I am counting on.”

**Space Break**

“This is the last thing Clark sent me before he just dropped off the map.” The dark-haired woman held out a file to the boys in front of her.

Richie took the file and opened it, then frowned. “There’s…only one photo.” He held it up, frowning. “Looks like...uh oh.”

“Let me see.” Virgil reached over and took the picture. “Oh geez. That’s not good.”

“What?” The woman leaned over and looked at the picture. “What about this isn’t good? It’s just a picture of Luthor’s lab.”

“You didn’t notice the fact that Clark got his reflection right there.” Richie pointed to a part of the picture itself. “Do you see that, Miss Lane?”

Lois Lane frowned at the photo as Richie pointed down at something in one corner. Her eyes narrowed. “It looks like there’s something coming up behind him…is it a robot?”

“No.” Virgil looked at Lois with a grim expression that didn’t look like it belonged on a teenager. “That’s Luthor.”

“That can’t be right – not unless he’s a robot.”

“Or possessed by one,” Richie pointed out. “It could happen.”

“How could a computer possess someone? They aren’t sentient – they shouldn’t be able to—“

“The ones on Earth aren’t.”

Lois stared at Richie. “What are you getting at.”

“Do you know where Superman came from?” Richie asked.

Something in his pocket started beeping. Loudly.

“Rich?” Virgil looked over at his friend as Lois frowned.

Richie pulled out what looked like a smart phone and frowned. “Maria just dropped her shielding; Brainiac’s gonna know she’s here. What is she thinking?”

“Hey, after the Dark Arms, she’s probably prepared for the consequences,” Virgil responded.

“What are you two boys talking about?” Lois asked, frowning.

Virgil and Richie looked at Lois.

“Let’s just say that Superman wasn’t the _only_ one who came from Krypton,” Richie said grimly. He handed the photo back to Lois, then looked at Virgil. “Come on – we’d better get moving, just in case.”

“Right. Don’t want to leave them completely defenseless!”

The two of them dashed out of Lois’ office and started down towards the lobby of the _Daily Planet_ office building, startling other journalists and employees in their mad dash for the front doors.

“Think Luthor’s gonna make his move now?” Virgil asked.

“If he doesn’t, he’s probably gonna move soon,” Richie replied. “I mean, Maria’s a walking target of who knows how much power and knowledge. There’s no way that Brainiac going to resist going after that!”

“Wait!”

Virgil and Richie stopped and turned sharply to look back as Lois came down the stairs after them.

“I’m coming with you,” Lois said, determined. “If Clark is in trouble, someone needs to pull his fat out of the fryer, and there’s no way that I’m letting the two of you do whatever it is you’re planning on doing when you’re also underage.”

Virgil gritted his teeth in annoyance at that.

“Miss Lane, are you sure you want to follow us in?” Richie asked. “I mean, Brainiac could end up getting into _your_ head and then what’s gonna happen?”

“I think I’ll be fine. Clark’s a bit less careful than I am, but only by a little. I think I’ll be able to keep myself from getting caught by a computer virus.”

“We’ll see,” Virgil said shortly. “Come on; we probably don’t have much time before he decides to make his move.”

**Space Break**

Matt and Bart Allen had been standing in another part of the city when Matt noticed something suddenly flare up. The Aura domino mask appeared over his face in seconds as he turned his head in order to find the source.

“Uh oh.” Matt swallowed.

Bart frowned. “What is it?”

“Maria just dropped her shielding – her aura is unmasked, and it’s not going to just get my attention.” The mask didn’t fade from Matt’s face, instead, it seemed to be solidifying. “Which means that Brainiac probably knows we’re here.”

There was a bright red flash and a blast of wind as Bart quickly changed into his Flash costume. “Sounds like it’s time that we got a move on and met these guys before they do anything utterly stupid – like going after your sister.”

“Well, at least it means that Batman _probably_ doesn’t have to do any social calls. For now.” Matt cracked his knuckles. “I hope they know where Superman is, because I definitely don’t want to end up facing him unprepared!”

“Then let’s get a move on before he finds us first!” Flash grabbed Matt’s arm. “Hold onto your lunch, kid!”

**Space Break**

Luthor’s work in his lab was halted rather abruptly by an alarm going off.

An intruder? Not a normal one – this person was standing across the street from his HQ.

But the energy the figure was releasing and was coated in…it was almost impossible that someone her size would be capable of carrying so much.

_I require that. Capture her and bring her here – alive._

Luthor knew the thought wasn’t for him. It was for someone else – the other presence that the thoughts brought along with them. He could sense them – vaguely – awakening at the voice’s order and moving from where they had stayed since Luthor had found them wandering around in his lab.

Perhaps another would be able to join with them soon and help more to see the light, just as Luthor had.


	13. Chapter 13

Maria was expecting Superman.

She was not entirely expecting the second figure that followed him out of the Luthor building and stood next to him with the same blank, grim expression that the other had.

“Superman and Superboy just walked out of Lex Luthor’s HQ,” Maria said quickly. “Superboy is still wearing the white suit that Cadmus made him wear – Diana and I will _not_ be able to take them on alone.”

There was a crackle of static in her ear. _::Coming, Flare! Just give me--::_

A red blur blasted into the street, then stopped short, revealing that Flash and Aura Seeker had made their way onto the scene.

“—one second,” Flash finished with a grin.

“You’re losing your touch,” Seeker commented as Maria shifted over to her armor.

The pedestrians who happened to be nearby stared at them with wide-eyed expressions of alarm and surprise before bolting in opposite directions – away from Lex Luthor’s building and the fight that was going to be coming.

Flash snorted as a short blast of wind came from behind them, and Diana walked out into the open in her Wonder Woman uniform. “I was kinda dragging some dead weight there, kid. Don’t blame me if you think I’m ‘losing my touch.’”

Seeker rolled his eyes in response.

“Brainiac-controlled.” Maria nodded to Superman and Superboy. “They haven’t moved yet; they’re assessing the situation.”

“Back of the neck,” Seeker said. “It seems to be the usual position for Brainiac’s devices. I can see the green aura from here.”

Superman shifted his position slightly. Maria’s eyes narrowed in response, and she shifted her stance into a more active one to match Superman’s as her clothes shifted over to her armor.

“All right, Brianiac,” Maria said coldly. “We’re prepared. I should hope that you are.”

Superman inclined his head slightly in response to Maria’s words. And then he _moved._

Wonder Woman and Flash moved at once towards Superman as he became a blur of his own; the two of them lunged for him and practically disappeared in a whirlwind of flying fists and wind.

Superboy started towards Maria and Seeker, moving not as quickly but still quickly enough that he was able to score a punch to Seeker’s chest and send him flying back into the building behind them.

Maria didn’t look back at her brother as he was sent flying back; she saw the sudden explosion of aura as he went past and covered herself in flames while standing her ground.

When Superboy moved towards her, Maria blasted him with flames as she moved in a different direction, hoping to momentarily distract him as her right arm shifted into the business end of an energy cannon. The wall of flames hardly did anything to slow him down, however, and his hand whipped out and grabbed her left arm, stopping her from moving further.

His hand squeezed slightly, not quite enough to live a handprint-dent in her armor.

“Interesting,” Superboy said in a monotone. “Armor with not-Earth materials, but human-like features.”

Maria didn’t correct him or give him more information on her armor’s origins. Her eyes narrowed as her jaw set.

Superboy’s other hand came forward and slapped something onto her chest. “I will know how to recreate this armor for my own form soon enough.”

Maria’s body stiffened as soon as the Brainiac symbol came into contact with her chest; she felt something try to break into her mind through her own mental defenses.

_Give yourself up; become a part of our collective of knowledge._

Then something else rose up, and a grim grin crossed Maria’s face as the Brainiac patch on her chest fizzed and smoked. “Attempt to assimilate will result in loss of personality and free will. Access _denied.”_

The Brainiac patch popped off Maria’s chest as she pointed her Buster at Superboy’s chest as he stared at her. “Stun Shot.”

_Brrrzzt!_

The blast of yellow electric energy at such close range caused Superboy to stumble back; his legs gave out from under him as the electricity gathered around a certain spot on the back of his neck.

_Pop!_

The green, smoking, sparking patch flew off the back of Superboy’s neck, causing him to collapse to the ground with a groan.

Maria peeled off the smoking patch from her chest and crushed it in her hand, then walked over to the one that had been on Superboy and crushed it underfoot calmly before turning to look over at Seeker.

Seeker was sitting on the ground with his back to the building he’d been thrown into, clutching his ribs. Maria approached him as he looked up with a grimace.

“Bruised ribs,” Seeker said. “Probably cracked. I…I don’t think there’s any internal bleeding.”

There came a groan from behind Maria; she looked over as Superboy rose to his feet. She looked back at Seeker. “Stay put. You’re going to need to go to a hospital.”

“Or a medbay,” Seeker muttered. He winced.

“…where am I?” Superboy looked around in confusion as Maria approached him. “What…what is this?”

“Metropolis, a subsection of New York,” Maria replied. “I’m Flare-Up.”

A blast of wind rushed past them as Superman and Flash raced past, dodging each other’s blows and attempting to hit each other into submission.

“And you and Superman have been under the control of an alien computer virus from Krypton that is attempting to collect the knowledge of all the planets it comes across, destroying the source in the process,” Maria said. “I believe it also caused the planet Krypton to become destroyed.”

Superboy blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Hey, Flare! Grab—“

Maria’s arm flew out behind her as the blur went past again; she felt her hand brush against something and a buzz of energy run down her arm.

The blast of wind stopped abruptly as a scream _ripped_ its way out of Superman’s throat, causing Maria to turn sharply as Superboy gained a look of alarm.

“What just – what’s going—“

Maria looked back and slapped Superboy’s hand with hers, causing him to shut up when the buzz of energy passed through them both.

When Maria looked back at Superman, she frowned when she saw him on his hands and knees, the Brainiac patch on the back of his neck fizzling and spitting wildly. She walked over and pulled the patch off and glared at it disapprovingly.

“I damn sure hope you remember me now, you damn virus,” Maria hissed. “Because if you don’t, I’m going to be gunning for you _personally,_ and you are not going to survive the encounter.”

She crushed the patch in her hand as Superman started to push himself to his feet unsteadily. “Gear, Static, we’ve rescued Superman and Superboy. How are things on your end?”

_::What, you managed to get it taken care of without us? How?::_

“Flash and Wonder Woman,” Maria replied. “Seeker’s going to need a visit to the hospital – Superboy punched him into a wall and left him with some cracked ribs.”

 _::Lois says she can get him in one without a problem::_ Gear replied. _::What about Lex and Brainiac?::_

“I reminded Supes when Brainiac was still in his head.”

_::Holy scrap. Do you think that got him, too?::_

“I don’t know.” Maria’s eyes narrowed. “But if it did and he decides to still move forward, he is going to face my anger regardless.”

_::I don’t doubt it! Hopefully he does remember and pull back::_

“I should hope that he does,” Maria muttered.

**Change in POV**

Luthor brought himself up shakily from the floor. His head was pounding with the screams that had rocketed through his mind and knocked him unconscious.

_There has been a change in plans._

Luthor got a flash of _something_ in his mind – a human….no, something that only _looked_ like a human.

_Goal: capture alive for study. Being may be of some use to Operation: See the Light._

“Understood,” Luthor replied. “The machine is almost complete.”

_Yes. We shall soon be able to spread our understanding and knowledge across the world._

“Yes.” Luthor moved towards the lab’s exit, grinning as he gained confidence in his step and looked less like a scrambling lab monkey and more like the knowledgeable businessman he was.

He burst through the doors and into a dark conference room with large monitors hanging on the walls. They activated as Luthor approached the table in the center of the room, showing other figures – the other members of the Light organization.

“My project is almost complete,” Luthor said with a green glint in his eyes. “But something else has made itself known that may jeopardize our mission.”

 _::How jeopardizing?::_ asked one of the figures.

“We lost Cadmus’ little project and the project’s origins to it,” Luthor replied grimly. “Not too long ago, in fact.”

There was a slight increase in tension in the room.

“We need this upstart stopped before it can cause our plans to be stopped completely.”

The middle of the table lit up with a hologram, showing the same form that the voice in his mind had shown him.

 _::A child::_ one of the figures scoffed.

 _::A dangerous child::_ another one said. _::Do not take this one lightly::_

“You know it?” Luthor asked.

_::I know of her, yes. You are playing a dangerous game, Lex Luthor, if you think that you are capable of stopping this one. I will play along to see how you handle taking her on, but I won’t become actively involved. I do not wish to meet her ire face to face::_

The figure who had just spoken chuckled darkly, then disconnected from the meeting without another word.

 _::I would like to see this girl face to face and see how she handles what I am capable of::_ said the first figure with a knowing voice. _::She is in Metropolis?::_

“Presently.”

_::Good. One of my servants will find and meet her shortly, then. If she can take down Superman and the cloned boy, then I would like to see how well she can handle what it is that he himself is weak to. Magic can be…a very good persuader. Finish your problem little Tinker. This upstart will trouble you no longer::_

The screens shut off as one, leaving Luthor in darkness. Without the eyes of others on him, the confidence faded; he reached out for the voice in his mind for instructions as to what to do next.

_Finish the project. That is all that matters._

Luthor nodded almost absently, then turned and went back to his lab, moving quickly. They needed to finish what they had begun, before any more chances were lost.

The world would See the Light.


	14. Chapter 14

Maria sat out in the waiting room with Lois, Virgil, and Richie as they waited for news on Matt’s condition. A part of Maria wanted to start pacing in the room, but that space was already taken.

“You do realize now that he’s going to know you’re here.” Stark looked at Maria with an accusing expression. “All that planning, all the information gathering—“

“Can still happen; I simply can’t be as present as I was going to be previously,” Maria replied. “Brainiac may put more focus on me as a danger than the rest of you; he knows that I’m immune to his control.”

“How _are_ you immune?” Lois asked. Her fingers twitched; it looked like she was ready to grab a pen and notepad and start writing as quickly as possible.

“A defense programming that keeps me from being taken over,” Maria replied. “People have tried and nearly succeeded before, but then they have attempted to have me do something that went against who I was. The results of that only built onto my defense.”

“Is this only a technology thing or would magic be thrown in with that, too? Magic and technology normally don’t mix, and—“

“No one has attempted that,” Maria replied.

“That could be a problem,” Virgil spoke up. “I mean, there are magic users in this dimension, Flare.”

“I know. DC isn’t a dimension that I’m naïve about.” Maria’s eyes narrowed. “At this point, the only chance I have of not being affected by them is if they don’t _think_ about affecting me. Which is a slim chance in and of itself, unless I can annoy them enough that they’ll only want to kill me instead.”

Lois looked at Maria sharply. “You can’t seriously be thinking of doing that.”

“Why not?” Maria looked over at her. “It would mean that they see me as more of an annoyance than as something to be used; so long as I make them mad instead of providing information about myself that could give them interest in using me, they won’t pursue me in that way.”

“They could still see you as a weapon,” Stark said. “Making yourself more dangerous isn’t going to help. No. You’re staying on the back burner until further notice – I’m not letting some crazy reverse Dr. Strange or something possibly get into your head when the only defenses you’ve got are against tech like Brainy-Boy’s.”

Maria met Stark’s gaze calmly, and as he maintained his determined glare, she said, “All right. But make sure you are well-defended, as well – Dr. Strange may be a good ally in that.”

“Well, of course he is,” Stark said. “I’ll see if I can get into contact with him. See what he knows.”

“You have a lot of connections with the hero community for a businessman,” Lois remarked. “Especially since you’re already connected to SHIELD as a result of being an Avenger – are you sure it’s a good idea to get into contact with a man who doesn’t have any affiliations with the group you’re in?”

“He’s busier with other things,” Stark muttered. “Whether he’s in contact with SHIELD or not is besides the point right now. We’ve got Brainy Boy to worry about, and I’m not about to let him get away with whatever it is that he is planning.”

Maria hummed darkly in agreement.

Lois was drumming her fingers against the armrest of her chair now. “So, if this news got out, say, what of all this would you hope got out?”

“Brainiac’s gotta be kept on the down-low,” Virgil said instantly. “If people learned that some guy hiding in their tech could take them over, everything’s gonna go downhill _fast._ ”

“Yeah.” Richie nodded in agreement. “Besides, he’s only going to be going after Flare now, for the most part – if he’s got Luthor already, then he’s already got everything he’s going to want or need when it comes to information and technology.”

“Except for me,” Maria said.

“Yeah, except for you.”

“Speaking of which, don’t tell them about who exactly I am.” Maria looked at Lois. “Keep things as vague as you can. I may be impacting things here, but there are some things about me and my brother that I would prefer be kept secret. Aura Seeker and I are only here because of what Brainiac is doing; our stay here is not going to be permanent.”

“But you could end up coming back after this,” Lois commented.

“I doubt that I will, but there is a chance of it, yes.” Maria paused, considering the reporter. “How much of this will end up in your paper? Be honest.”

“Well, I have to make mention of the fact that Lex Luthor was controlling Superman somehow,” Lois commented. “I have pictures of the remains of those control patches you smashed. Superboy is also a bit unexpected – if I can get quotes from Superman about where he came from, that would be good, too. I’ll have to see if I can get Jimmy to find him later. And I am going to have to make mention of you because you were the one who rescued Superman and resisted being controlled without breaking stride. I’m afraid you’re going to be getting a lot of attention for that.”

“Well, I’m putting her in the Avengers Tower after this, so she’s going to be getting a lot of attention anyway,” Stark said. “We don’t exactly bring people in without a reason.”

“Like Spiderman?” Lois asked dryly.

Stark stared at her for a moment, then waved her knowing smirk off. “The kid’s living with his aunt; I was just giving him a place to stay while she was off doing something. He’s practically an Avenger at this point.”

Lois raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t read too much into that – Underoos isn’t going to be doing anything in the big leagues for a long time.”

“He’s going to try,” Maria commented.

“So then, Flare-Up – I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that you’re eighteen and you’re allowed to be going around and doing these things without a mentor or a teacher of some kind.” Lois frowned. “Is it okay in your dimension for people your age to be left alone?”

“My dimension’s Earth is the same as yours when it comes to culture in general,” Maria replied. “As for my age, yes. Considering that I am about 38 years old in my dimension.”

Lois blinked. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Let’s just say that the reason behind that has something to do with why I’m immune to Brainiac and leave it at that,” Maria replied dryly.

Lois was about to ask another question when a nurse entered the waiting room area.

“I assume you’re the group who’s with the metahuman?” the nurse asked.

Maria rose to her feet. “That’s my brother, yes. Is he all right?”

“His ribs are bruised, but he looks like he’s going to be fine. We’ve told him that he has to keep from vigilante activities for the time being, and I’m telling you that as well – your brother is not built to be able to handle being thrown into walls or anything similar.” The nurse gave Maria a reproving look. “Make sure that he stays somewhere out of the fighting.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem.” Stark stepped forward. “I’m keeping an eye on the two of them; I’ll make sure he doesn’t sneak off and do anything stupid.”

The nurse blinked in surprise at Stark’s statement, then frowned. “I should hope so, considering your track record, Mr. Stark. And that someone you requested be sent to the local psych ward has recently escaped.”

“Whatever’s going on with Steve, I’m sure we’ll be able to get to the bottom of it,” Stark replied. “In the meantime – how much was this kid’s bill for getting looked over?”

Maria didn’t say a word as Stark’s question got the doctor to come in and set things up so that Stark’s insurance and deep pockets would handle Seeker’s temporary hospital stay. She could feel Lois’ gaze on her, however, and looked over when the doctor disappeared again to fetch her brother.

“What now?” Lois asked.

“Now, we get the Justice League together – finally – and do something about Brainiac,” Maria replied. “Especially considering that our actions today shortened up the amount of time he is going to be focusing on his own projects.”

“Which are?”

“Absorbing this world’s knowledge and destroying the origins of that knowledge…and finding me.” Maria paused to consider her own words. “Watch your step, Lois. And look out for anything connected to computers that happen to be a sickly green – it’s likely that Brainiac is involved in that. Especially considering that he now has access to everything that Luthor does.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lois replied, not looking the least bit fazed. “And you watch your back.”

Maria gave a nod in response as Seeker was wheeled out into the waiting room, sitting in a wheelchair and looking like he wanted to not move around very much. His expression brightened when he saw Maria, who nodded to the nurse.

“Looks like I’m out of the action for the rest of this,” Seeker commented.

“You knew there was a chance we would run into Superman today; you shouldn’t have gotten involved anyway,” Maria replied.

Seeker shrugged, then winced a bit at his ribs. “Yeah, I probably should have been thinking about that. But that’s kinda what we do sometimes, isn’t it? Rush in with half-baked plans and get pulled out by others when we’re nearly baked?”

Maria caught the glimmer of amusement in her brother’s eyes and rolled her own. “Things are different now. Don’t think that things will continue to be the same.”

Seeker snorted, but he didn’t say anything else.

“So, what now?” Virgil piped up as they hit the elevator.

“We’ll talk about that when we get to the car,” Stark replied. He glanced over at the nurse, then sent a pointed look at Lois. “Without all the extra ears.”

Lois frowned at Stark’s comment, then recovered herself and tried to wave it off. “I have enough information for now for an article on the scuffle that happened in front of Luthor’s building – for now. Expect to see it in one of the upcoming issues as soon as possible – or if they’ve been jumped by this ‘Brainy Boy,’ I’ll spread it on my own.”

Stark nodded in agreement, as did Maria.

There was a limo waiting for them in front of the hospital. Maria saw Bruce sitting in the back with one of the windows down. He looked at them for a moment, then looked back at the back of the driver’s head as Virgil and Richie helped Seeker get out of the wheelchair and into the limo. Maria and Stark followed in after them.

“I’ll be in touch,” Lois said through the open window. “This story isn’t going to be dropped, and now that I’ve got it, people are going to be swarming Luthor’s people.”

“Don’t join them,” Stark said.

“I may be a journalist, but I’m not stupid. Anything you want the public to know, you let me know.” Lois stepped back from the limo.

Bruce closed the window. “Stark Tower, Alfred.”

“Very good, sir.”

The limo started its trek towards its destination, and Bruce looked at Maria with a guarded expression before looking over at the rest of the group.

“Most of the members of the Justice League are here and ready to make the team a reality,” Bruce said. “We are still missing Green Arrow and the Martian Manhunter—“

“Does he murder people?”

Maria and Bruce sent Stark disapproving looks.

Stark raised his hands. “Forget I asked, geez!”

“Nightwing said he would look into his location,” Bruce said. “If Mars is not invaded by an alien shape-shifting race, then they will need a different reason to come to Earth.”

“Like Brainiac?” Matt suggested.

“Maybe.” Bruce’s expression soured. “But I hope not. We have more then enough to worry about with him; we wouldn’t be able to put as much focus on diplomatic meetings with the Martians if they do decide to reach out to us.”

“You forget that the JL isn’t the only group around here,” Stark spoke up.

Bruce sent him a sour look. “The Avengers are a task force to SHIELD, nothing more. I doubt that you would be as involved in the diplomatic proceedings as you think.”

“And I think you doubt what exactly it is I can and cannot do,” Stark said with a grin. “I’ve got connections; if those guys show up, I can get you and the League in, no problem.”

Bruce looked like he was considering that, but then he turned his focus back to the others in the limo. “Things are going to be different here than they were before; with the Avengers and other vigilantes present, Brainiac’s movements are going to be different from how they were before the World Collision. He is going to get the rest of the world involved, whether we like it or not. Warning SHIELD might not do much, but at least it would make sure that they would know to back up their information or _stay out of the way when they get in over their head.”_ He sent Stark another pointed look.

“I can bring it up to Fury, but whatever he does after that is on his bald head, not mine,” Stark said. “I’ve got my hands full keeping Cap under house arrest until we can prove the poor guy is sane and doesn’t need pills that will just go straight through his system and not do anything.”

“It’s because of that super serum, isn’t it,” Richie said. At Stark’s nod, Richie nodded. “I thought so – that kind of thing keeps his body healthy; it’s not gonna let anything affect his body now.”

“Sort of like how Maria is a Reploid and nothing would affect her, either,” Virgil pointed out.

“Kinda. Except she can go without food and he can’t pull that stunt.” Stark looked over at Maria, who shrugged.

“Food is still energy,” Maria said. “I don’t see any reason why I should stop using it – especially when I am in the presence of humans who don’t know what I am.”

“Maria’ll still eat whether or not people know,” Matt said. “But that’s the issue right now – what I want to know is what you guys are going to do now that Maria’s revealed herself and Brainiac is thinking about how he’s going to get Maria.”

“What makes you say that?” Richie frowned.

“Maria’s a walking tome of knowledge – knowledge that Brainiac doesn’t have. The fact that she can’t be controlled means that she’s a challenge, too – we’re going to be getting a lot of attention from different villains on both sides of this dimension now. Stark Tower’s going to have a lot of different visitors when word gets out about where she’s staying.”

“We’ll be fine,” Stark commented. “Although, I would like to see the look on Reed’s face when he finds out that Maria’s a walking portal.” He grinned.

“I don’t think I can remind him.” Maria inclined her head slightly. “I didn’t get a chance to interact with him when we were fighting back against the World Collision or when the Autobot-Decepticon war was happening.”

“I’m not asking you to, although this is gonna make things even funnier.” Stark grinned widely. “Him and his little phantom prison zone aren’t gonna stand up against what Maria knows.”

“As amusing as that might be, I would rather not do that until I know Brainiac isn’t going to attempt to listen in,” Maria replied. “The knowledge that I have would be dangerous if it fell into his hands.”

Stark’s expression sobered. “Yeah, yeah, that’s a good point. Don’t worry, kid, I’m not gonna do that just yet.”

Maria gave a short nod in response.

“So, we basically wait for Brainiac to make another move of some kind, but until then, you two are under house arrest too.” Stark pointed at Maria and Matt. “Both of you because you come from another dimension and know stuff, and you because you’re not going into active duty anytime soon.” Stark gave Matt a look.

“Yup.” Matt patted his side and winced at his ribs’ reaction. “With the way I’m feeling right now, I’m not going anywhere.”

Bruce gave a nod of approval.

“Thor remembers, by the way,” Stark said casually. “Something about being an Asgardian, I guess. He’s gonna be very happy to see you two. Cap, too.”

“If Thor remembers, then so does Loki,” Maria noted. “And if Loki remembers, either he will not get involved, or he will get involved and use that knowledge to his advantage. Hopefully, that will not mean he is planning on playing the villain because he has something twisted in mind for humankind as a whole.”

Stark muttered something that sounded derogatory under his breath. The others didn’t comment on it as they came up to the entrance to Stark’s home and home office.

Stark got out of the limo before it could come to a full stop, getting a disapproving noise from Alfred as Bruce followed after him, as did the others.

Maria moved close to Matt and held an arm around his back. “Just in case.”

Matt looked over at her and nodded as they started towards the entrance.

“Wow,” Richie’s jaw dropped as they entered the skyscraper. “I can’t believe we’re actually going to be able to see the inner workings of this place.”

“Hey.” Stark looked back and pointed at Richie. “Don’t expect free reign of this place; I’m still finding snacks from AntMan in small places they shouldn’t be.”

“All I want is to _look_ at your lab,” Richie said. “Just…through a window or something.”

“I’ll think about it. But if you go in there you have to promise that Sparky doesn’t go in. I’ve got some pretty sensitive equipment in there that wouldn’t be able to handle him getting so close.” Stark jabbed a thumb over at Virgil as they made their way over to the elevator.

“I don’t have an interest in that stuff anyway,” Virgil said with a shrug. “How much of a use am I gonna get out of it?”

Stark looked at Virgil with a calculating sort of expression, then nodded and pulled back. “Good. At least that means I know you won’t be messing around with my stuff.”

The group slipped through the lobby and past a lonely receptionist sitting at the counter, who gave the group a somewhat wide-eyed look as soon as they passed. She ended up locking eyes with Maria as a result, only to quickly turn back to her work.

Stark palmed a panel in the wall next to a pair of elevator doors. “You two – Sparky and Nerd. I’m going to need an excuse for the two of you to be with me. Bruce’s already got clearance because SHIELD knows everything but I don’t know if they know about you two.”

Bruce’s expression darkened at Stark’s comment.

“If they know everything, then why wouldn’t they know about us?” Virgil raised an eyebrow as the elevator doors opened.

“We’ve only been active in this timeline for a few months, V,” Richie pointed out as the group stepped into the elevator. “They probably haven’t gotten enough data on us or something like that.”

“They weren’t paying attention to Dakota when the Big Bang went off?”

“Considering how many vigilantes are in New York, they more than likely have their hands full with them already,” Matt pointed out. “I mean, there’s the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and who knows how many other groups out here.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point.” Richie frowned in thought. “But you’d think at least one person noticed us – besides….” He trailed off and looked over at Bruce. “Yeah, this is gonna be really awkward. I’m used to having you older than us, not the same age as us.”

“That makes two of us,” Bruce grumbled.

“Well, we’ll have to figure something out,” Stark repeated. “I’m going to have my hands full with Fury and anything he decides to try and pull on us. I’ll have to see what Friday’s gleamed from his Internet history before I manage to settle and decide on anything. Speaking of which – Friday!”

 _::Yes, Mr. Stark?::_ came a female voice from somewhere in the elevator.

“Does Fury know about the incident in front of Luthor’s pad yet?”

_::He is aware of it and is coming over shortly to see if you know something about it. Shall I give him the usual excuses?::_

“Hold off on the excuses; I want to see if the World Jumper can handle him first.”

_::Of course. And your other guests?::_

“Let’s say we’re hoping to be interns,” Richie suggested suddenly. “F-for your company. And we’re here to have an interview with…uh….”

“Pepper Potts,” Stark supplied.

“Yeah!”

“Hmm…that’ll work. But you’ll have to fill her in on what’s going on – Maria, can she be reminded?”

“I doubt it, considering that I never met her in person.”

Stark considered that, then nodded as the elevator doors opened. “All right, then. Let’s see if we can get to Cap before Fury—“

“Before I what, Tony Stark?”

The group turned to look at the room beyond the elevator.

Standing in the middle of what looked like a living room area was a stern black man with an eye patch.

Behind him stood Steve Rodgers in a T-shirt and sweatpants, Thor right behind him.


	15. Chapter 15

“Hi, Nick!” Stark stepped out of the elevator, followed by the rest of his teenager-sized group. “Friday told me you were coming. I’d hoped that I would have a little more time before you did show up, though.”

“Stark, why do you have a mentally unstable fugitive from the hospital who _you_ put there in the first place?” Fury asked coldly.

Stark’s false smile faded at the question. “Right down to business, huh? All right. Truth is he isn’t the crazy one around here. We’re just remembering things that haven’t happened in this dimension – or _did,_ but _didn’t.”_

Fury looked at Stark with a deadpan expression. “Uh huh.”

“Maria, could you—“

“Didn’t interact with him,” Maria replied without missing a beat. “Unfortunately, Fury’s unremindable, as much as that would make all of this easier.”

Steve’s gaze moved over to Maria at the sound of her serious voice; his eyes widened in recognition, surprise, and relief, if the relaxing in his shoulders was any indication.

Fury noticed. “And who are these kids?”

“Maria Carlsdale, codename Flare-Up,” Maria said, inclining her head at Fury. “I was in front of Lex Luthor’s building with the scuffle that took place earlier today. This is my brother, Matthew, codename Aura Seeker.”

“Older brother,” Matt added. He held out a hand for Fury to shake, but the man didn’t take it. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go sit down, because Superboy bruised my ribs earlier today and I shouldn’t be moving around very much.” He made his way over to a nearby couch, meeting Thor’s gaze as he did, and sat down with a sigh of relief.

Fury looked between the two of them, then focused on Maria. “You’re the signal that our systems picked up. What are you?”

“Reploid, android – I answer to either.” Maria gave a slight shrug. “My brother is still human yet.”

Fury looked over at Matt again, who gave a sheepish expression and shrugged. He looked back at Maria. “Do you know what you’ve gotten yourself into, young lady? Playing the vigilante isn’t something for the faint of heart, much less a high school student.”

“I’m 38 years old.” Maria raised an eyebrow. “I just haven’t had the time to have someone physically age me up.”

“Then how is he the older brother?” Fury pointed back at Matt.

“Warps in time,” Matt called over. “Kinda hard to avoid when we travel between dimensions on a regular basis.”

Fury frowned. “Between—“

“We’re like Dr. Strange, but more hands-on.” Matt smirked. “We actually travel between dimensions, not just keep an eye on them from a distance.” His expression darkened. “Which is a good thing this time, that’s for sure.”

Fury eyed the two of them, then turned and looked at the other three teenagers who were with Stark. “Bruce Wayne. I wasn’t expecting to see you up here so soon.”

“Fury.” Bruce lifted his head, looking at Fury with his patented Batman stare – not the full-on glare. Not yet, anyway. “I think you should know by now that there are things I’ve done and are capable of that most don’t think to look into.”

“Yes. Your work in Gotham is beginning to get some attention from the higher-ups. When you took a holiday in New York, some of us were wondering how Nightwing was going to be able to keep up with your actions and were surprised when he adapted so well to your sudden appearance and your absence. Any reason why he would be able to adapt so easily to you?”

“It’s the same reason that Captain America is being considered insane.” Bruce’s voice had dropped an octave. Maria could almost here the adult Batman she was used to in his voice, but there was still too much youthfulness yet.

“Uh huh.” Fury didn’t sound like he believed a word of it. “And you two boys?”

Virgil’s hair sparked when Fury’s attention turned to him; Gear shifted his stance slightly, but he didn’t go into a defensive or offensive appearance.

“We’re old friends of Maria’s and Bruce’s,” Virgil said. “If you factor in the fact that we remember another timeline.”

“Otherwise, we’re just acquaintances who willingly signed up for the ride we got,” Richie added.

Fury eyed the two of them for a second, then turned and looked at Stark. “What the hell are they talking about?”

“Multiverse stuff, director.” Stark shrugged, but he was grinning; he loved holding something over Fury’s head and knowing something he didn’t. “Something happened that made our universe’s reset button get hit. New timeline, new memories. For most of us, anyway – Maria can remind some people.”

“Only those I interacted with in the previous timeline,” Maria spoke up. “I never interacted with you, so you can’t be reminded. That’s how it works.”

“And Cap remembered on his own – that’s why the rest of us thought he was nuts.” Stark shrugged. “I guess being Maria’s partner for that inter-dimensional tourney did something that made sure he didn’t forget.”

“I did forget,” Steve spoke up. “For a little while. Then everything came back in bits and pieces and even _I_ thought I was nuts. It was only after you kicked me out of the tower that everything settled in place.”

Fury looked over at the super soldier with a guarded, unreadable expression. He looked back at Stark. “So, what you’re telling me is that Steve screaming about aliens in his sleep is normal.”

“No; that’s PTSD,” Richie corrected.

“Yeah; you should’ve heard Rich this morning,” Virgil added. His friend elbowed him in the side with an annoyed expression, causing Virgil to wince.

“And how am I to believe that what you say is true, if I can’t be ‘reminded’?” Fury looked over at Maria.

Maria spread her hands. “I can create mirages from memories, but I doubt that would do you any good. You might say they were fabrications. For now, our words and our actions will have to be enough to convince you that neither are Captain Rogers and the others crazy, but also that my brother and I are, in fact, from another dimension and we know what we are doing here against Brainiac.”

Fury looked like he was about to let his temper go, but reeled it in and breathed out slowly. “All right. Either you aren’t telling me something, or you’re all just crazy. And I’m not about to let crazy people wander around here and do whatever they want and destroy who knows what.”

“Then you’re going to lose this dimension to Brainiac,” Maria replied flatly. “And I am not about to let that happen.” She raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to feel what it’s like to be mind controlled by an alien computer virus that will only kill you when it’s done with this planet? Because I don’t think so.”

“You haven’t reminded _him_ yet?” Steve asked.

“Haven’t been able to. I need access to a computer system he’s inhabiting, not someone he is mind-controlling, unless reminding Superman brought him to his senses.” Maria’s eyes narrowed. “Which at this point in time is something I doubt.”

Steve blinked at that, then frowned. “Luthor.”

“Exactly. But getting into his building and getting to Brainiac _alive_ is going to be difficult now; he knows that I am here and capable of resisting being controlled, but—“

“How?” Fury spoke up suddenly. “You mentioned having someone age you up physically – how can that happen when—“

Maria’s clothes shifted into armor, and Fury shut up.

“I am what is known as a Replicating Android, or Reploid, in one of the dimensions that I have visited,” Maria said, raising an eyebrow. “I was changed into this when I was placed in a life or death situation. I have defenses against what Brainiac is attempting with organic beings. Do not expect me to tell you more other than that.” Her armor shifted back into her clothes, and she stuck her hands in her pockets. “So I am obviously the only one who is capable of facing Brainiac head-on because I am naturally immune to him.”

“If you can call it natural, since you’re not organic,” Stark commented. Maria decided against sending a glare in his direction. Gear did that for her, but the look went ignored.

“Brainiac no doubt has some form of interest in me,” Maria added. “The fact that I am capable of resisting him is going to cause him to look for me and attempt to find the cause of my immunity.”

“So, you’re offering yourself up as bait,” Fury said flatly.

“Bait and the weapon to be used against him directly.” Maria inclined her head. “But I will be needing backup, and Captain Rogers back in uniform where he belongs.”

Fury looked over at Steve, who gave him a knowing look in response. The man sighed irritably, then looked at Thor.

“You’ve been quiet through all this,” he said. “What do you have to say about it?”

“Maria is a World Jumper,” Thor replied. “A being that most do not get to see face-to-face in their lifetime, and if they do, they usually don’t realize it unless World Jumpers reveal themselves.” He paused. “Maria and I have interacted before. I am willing to trust her and stand by any decision she makes when it comes to that slimy, double-crossing virus she speaks of.”

If Fury was surprised, he didn’t show it. He looked over at Maria again, who wordlessly raised an eyebrow and inclined her head at him. “You really do travel between dimensions.”

“It’s my job,” Maria replied calmly.

“Our job,” Matt corrected. “It’s just that you’ve done a little more of it.”

“Not my fault that the multiverse decided it had a few more things for me to do than you,” Maria replied. “Or Liz. Or Collin, who hasn’t even _left_ home.”

“Really? I would have thought that he would have done _something_ by now.”

“He has a family back home now; I doubt that our brother will be able to leave his wife and children very easily.” Maria looked back at Fury. “Brainiac is no doubt going to become more active in the near future; we have to be prepared.”

“If you’re immune, then you can—“

“My immunity only goes so far, and it only works on sentient, mechanical beings like myself as far as I am aware. I doubt that my programming would be able to protect your systems from Brainiac very well.” Maria paused, considering. “I am willing to allow you to create a programming _based_ off the one in my head, but you have to swear that you will only use it on your computer systems, and no where else.”

Fury said nothing.

“Richie can take care of getting the programming copied and edited. He knows what to look for.”

Richie nodded. “Yeah. I’ve seen it more than enough times to know what to look for.”

“Only if Stark oversees.” Fury looked at Stark.

Stark frowned, then shrugged as though he was brushing the glare off. “Yeah; fine. Sure.”

“And you are still under house arrest.” Fury looked at Steve. “For now. Until I get proof that you are not insane and I can let you out into the open without having you suffer from something in your head, you’re staying put.”

Steve’s expression soured a little at that, but he nodded. “Understood.”

“Good.” Fury looked at Maria again. “Now, young lady. Considering that you come from another dimension, do you have any affiliation with—“

“I doubt that I have any affiliation with an organization that you are familiar with, unless there is someone who is a part of that organization who could possibly be reminded in one form or another as a result of contact with me,” Maria replied. “I am not affiliated with Hydra, AIM, or any league that could be considered villainous. I do not work that way. I am also presently unaffiliated with any group of vigilantes that would be considered ‘heroes,’ but I am willing to work with them and SHIELD. To a point.”

“A loose cannon is one that has to be reigned in.” Fury frowned.

“I am not loose.” Maria looked at Fury with a guarded expression for a moment, then moved to the couch and sat next to her brother. “Let’s focus less on the two of us and more on Luthor and what we are going to do about him, his Light group, and Brainiac. You can do something about us after this dimension is no longer in danger of being digitized and collapse as a result.”

Fury’s gaze on Maria didn’t cause her to so much as look over at him, or say anything further on the subject.

“She is here for a reason,” Thor said. “Let her finish that mission before you bother her concerning anything else.”

Fury didn’t look too happy about that. He turned and looked at Thor with a disapproving glare, then looked over at Virgil, Richie, and Bruce. His gaze ran over each of them in turn, meeting their determined gazes, then moved out of the room without another word.

Stark watched Fury go without a word, then looked over at Steve and Thor. “So. Who wants to help us hunt down an evil computer virus that could take over our minds if we are anywhere close to technology? Which reminds me – Maria! Help me Brainy-Boy proof my tech!”

“Sure, Stark.”


	16. Chapter 16

It wasn’t until later in the day that the rest of the Avengers caught sight of Maria, Matt, Bruce, Richie, and Virgil.

“Stark, when you said you were calling a team meeting you didn’t say there were going to be children involved.” Clint Barton looked over the group of five as he came into the room, followed shortly by a familiar redhead who walked with her head held high as she looked the group over.

Maria gave Natasha a curt nod in greeting as the Black Widow walked past the Reploid, the movement and the look in her eyes causing the Avenger to pause for a moment before moving to sit on the couch across from them. Clint followed her lead.

“These kids are more than they look,” Stark replied. There was a grim tone in his voice that caused Clint to do a double-take, then look behind him at Thor, who was standing in front of another figure in the corner.

“…Steve?” Clint’s eyes widened sharply, and he shot up from the couch. “What the hell is he doing here, Stark?! He’s a dangerous—“

“He’s sane,” Stark replied bluntly. “Siddown, Legolas, I’ll get around to explanations in a bit. Maria?”

“I don’t know if I can remind them,” Maria responded instantly. “I didn’t interact with them as much as I did Cap or you.”

“Remind us?” Clint repeated. “Remind us of what?”

“Those nightmares Capsicle’s had going through his head,” Stark replied. “And now mine too.”

The last part was muttered, but Natasha’s gaze moved from Matt to Stark at the sound of it.

“Stark, if you’re getting them now, then you need to be admitted into a psych ward,” Natasha said.

“I’m fine,” Stark replied. “So’s Rogers.”

“I’ll believe that when he doesn’t start clawing the back of his neck,” Clint replied.

“That was once,” Steve spoke up. “Clint, I’m _fine._ Getting memories from a timeline that doesn’t exist anymore just made things go sideways for a while.”

Clint frowned. “Timeline? Memories? You’re not making any sense.”

“Actually, he is suggesting something that I’ve been thinking about.” A man with small stature wearing a sweater vest and dress pants under a lab coat entered the room. “The multiverse theory Reed Richards has been working on – infinite worlds spreading out into infinity – has more truth to it than I think even he wants to think about now.”

“What do you mean, Banner?” Natasha asked.

“Well, I’ve been helping him look into a few things, and it looks like some fundamental part of certain universes has been altered but not altered at the same time. The math holds. The infinite worlds that exist – a small portion of them got involved in something.” Banner looked over at Maria. “And it sounds like one of Stark’s guests knows what happened.”

“We all do, actually,” Maria replied. “But the shift in timelines isn’t the reason we’re here, Bruce Banner. We’re here because of something else.”

Banner blinked in surprise at Maria’s words as Bruce moved to stand next to Stark in the middle of the room.

“There is a computer virus in Lex Luthor’s possession that is currently possessing him to complete an agenda of his own design,” Bruce said. “If it succeeds, this world as we know it will be lost in a constant influx of data and never see the physical world again.”

The assembled Avengers stared at Wayne with guarded, mixed expressions.

“And you expect us to believe this?” Clint asked. “Stark, is this kid—“

“This kid is the one who goes around in a bat costume in Gotham,” Stark replied. Clint suddenly looked impressed. “He’s also getting another group together. Wayne knows what he’s talking about.”

“And so do we,” Richie spoke up. “V-Man and I have gone against Brainiac before.”

“Is that what you call it?” Natasha asked.

“It’s what he calls himself,” Virgil replied. “I’m immune to anything he tries because I’m a walking EMP. You guys aren’t.”

“This virus can infect humans?” Banner asked.

“Controls,” Maria corrected.

“He latches onto you somewhere and slips into your nervous system,” Matt explained. “Hacks it, basically.”

Banner looked worried at that. “That doesn’t—“

“I’m immune as well, but only because I developed an immunity.” Maria paused when she saw the stares she was getting. “It will only work on other technological beings or possibly devices. I will be extending that immunity to Friday and Vision, as well as Stark’s technology, since he asked.”

“Any defense against a technological horror is a good defense.”

Virgil stiffened with a yelp as a being rose up from the floor near his feet: a red-faced figure with glowing yellow eyes and a green outfit of some sort that made him look alien.

Wayne looked the figure up and down with a guarded expression; after a moment, he nodded slightly and gave the figure some space.

“Vision, we’ve got an elevator for a reason,” Clint said disapprovingly.

“My apologies; I heard Stark’s call and came straight up.” Vision turned and looked at Maria. “I hadn’t expected to meet another artificial being after Ultron.”

Maria inclined her head. “There are other worlds out there where androids and humans are capable of living side by side. I don’t come from such a place personally, but I have been there. My life was saved there, so I’ve become a part of that world’s narrative.” She paused, considering. “But that’s not important right now. We have other things to worry about.”

“Right.” Bruce commanded the attention of the others in the room again. “We have to do something about Brainiac before he uses Luthor for whatever plans he has. He is already aware of Maria’s presence here, and that is going to speed up whatever plans he has. We will need to move quickly, before he makes a move we won’t expect.”

“Which is what?” Clint asked.

“He is using Luthor’s connections with a criminal underground to move his plans forward,” Maria spoke up. “I doubt that he is going to simply let those resources go to waste.”

An explosion suddenly went off somewhere nearby, causing the building to shake slightly. Clint and Natasha leapt to their feet in an instant.

“Sounds like it’s our move.” Matt started to rise from his place on the couch, but Maria put an arm in front of him before he could get far.

“Out of commission because of bruised ribs, remember?” Maria sent her brother a look as she rose off the couch.

Matt’s expression soured slightly. “Oh, yeah.” He leaned back against the couch. “Give them a punch from me, will you?”

A smirk crossed Maria’s face for a moment, but then it was gone a moment later. She looked over at the main group. “If Brainiac is controlling anyone in the vicinity, give us an opening.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow as Virgil looked around.

“Where’s the bathroom?” Virgil asked.

Thor pointed down a hall, and Virgil gave a quick nod before bolting out of the room. Richie followed after him.

“Those kids better not be doing what I think they’re gonna do,” Clint said.

“Static and Gear are smart and know what Brainiac is capable of,” Maria replied, casually slipping to Virgil’s and Richie’s chosen vigilante names. “Let them help.”

“And you?” Natasha asked with a slightly curious tone.

“I can handle most anything thrown in my direction.” Maria clenched her fists. “We’re wasting time talking here; let’s get out and see what caused that explosion before things get worse. Stark, which way to the roof?”

“Actually, the windows here are capable of—“

Vision didn’t get to finish. Maria was already pushing one of the room’s windows open, letting in a blast of air and the clear sound of sirens. Her clothes shifted over to her armored form, and she looked back at the others.

“Meet you at the explosion site!”

Maria jumped out of the room without another word, then activated her hoverboard; he disconnected from her back and flew underneath her, barely managing to catch her before she could have landed on top of a nearby, not-as-tall skyscraper.

She barely heard the sound of someone swearing behind her somewhere as she flew towards the plume of smoke that was rising up into the skyline in the distance; clearly, either the explosion or its aftermath had been large.

A red and blue blur moved past Maria, swinging from a nearby skyscraper before somehow slowing down to keep pace with her. “Hey! Haven’t seen you around here before!”

“I’m not from around here,” Maria replied. “Do you have any idea what happened yet, Spiderman?”

“Explosion went off in one of the labs that the Fantastic Four are running,” the teenager superhero explained. “Sounds like it was just another bombing.”

“It’s never ‘just’ anything.” Maria’s eyes narrowed. “Especially when superheroes are involved.”

“…man you’re in a really bad mood, aren’t you.”

Maria decided against adding anything to that particular comment as they came up on the skyscraper-like lab that Spiderman had mentioned. “Not the Baxter Building.”

Spiderman snorted. “Of course not! They’ve got all sorts of defenses against something like this!”

“And yet people still choose to attack them and are able to get through how?”

Spiderman spluttered in response to Maria’s words, but wasn’t able to come up with anything by the time they landed in an alley near the burning building.

Maria nodded when she saw the fire crews and ambulances nearby, as well as the people who had been pulled from the explosion and were being treated for burns and being caught by shrapnel from whatever explosion had gone off. “It’s good to see that they were so quick to get here.”

“Yeah; they’re pretty good around an area that’s got so many of us crammed together like sardines,” Spiderman commented. He turned and started to head away from the area when he paused. “Something doesn’t feel right.” He looked over at Maria. “Who exactly are you, anyway?”

“Flare-Up,” Maria replied. “And I don’t like the feel of this place, either.”

A crackle of static went off in her ear. _::You really had to leave without us Flare? No fair! Anything big happening down there yet?::_

“Nothing yet, Gear; just response crews getting people out of the building. There might have been something inside that someone was looking for, but I won’t know until I get closer and start asking questions, and a person my size and physical age might not get us the information I’m looking for.”

“Who are you talking to?” Spiderman asked.

_::I’ll get looking in on it; Static’s going through the area and patrolling just in case the bomber’s still nearby. Be careful!::_

“Will do.” Maria looked over at Spiderman. “I was using my comm.”

“O…kay?”

She gave him a deadpan expression. “I’m an android; I can do things internally that most would need an extra device for.”

“Oh.” Spiderman sounded like he didn’t know what else he could say to that for a moment. “So…you could use infrared or something to see if there’s anyone nearby who shouldn’t be?”

“You’re very lucky you guessed in the right direction when it comes to my abilities.” Maria blinked, and the blue in her eyes dulled slightly as she activated her infrared. Her vision went – mostly – dark, except for the levels of heat that came from Spiderman and the people who happened to be standing nearby.

“Considering how many people are here already, I doubt that using this will allow me to see someone who is out of place,” Maria commented as a couple paramedics pulled someone into an ambulance before driving off. She blinked a couple times as her vision shifted back. “I would have more luck looking into what the lab was researching that might prove to be of some interest to people who have less than kind motives.”

“Eh. It was worth a shot.” Spiderman shrugged, then paused. “Hey, uh…your creator wouldn’t happen to have connections to the Fantastic Four at all, would you?”

“No.” Explaining to Spiderman her origins would take too much time, and right now it wasn’t important. Maria started out of the alley and started to look around at the spectators who were standing outside it, staring at the lab as the firemen finished making sure no more flames were shooting out of the building.

 _::Got something! It looks like this specific branch lab was made in order to study alien tech that was easier to adapt Earth tech to::_ Gear spoke up in Maria’s ear.

 _::Isn’t something like that still dangerous?::_ Static spoke up.

_::Well, yeah, but that’s what they were trying to figure out – whether or not this tech was safe for humans to use::_

_::So, what? Someone thought to bomb this place in order to take a bit of specific tech they wanted or something?::_

_::Probably. At least it wasn’t something of mine!::_

“Don’t say that so soon, Gear,” Maria murmured.

“Hey!”

Maria turned sharply just as Spiderman shot out of the alley and up and out of sight.

“Get back here, you deranged green menace!”

“Oooh! Coming from you, spider-menace, that’s hilarious! But it doesn’t have as much punch!”

Maria’s eyes narrowed. “Green Goblin.” She jumped onto her hoverboard and shot after Spiderman as he swung around a corner of a skyscraper high above their heads.

 _::A what now?::_ Static asked in confusion.

Maria heard a curse from Stark in her ear as she pushed up to the height that Spiderman was at, following the sound of the crazed man’s cackling. _::Green Goblin used to be Norman Oscorp – his company went under and Richards bought him out. He tested some kind of drug on himself and went completely insane, and Underoos seems to think this guy is his problem::_

“Elements from the cartoon, then,” Maria murmured to herself, frowning.

“Why’d you bomb that lab, Goblin?!” Spiderman yelled as they swung around another building. He barely managed to avoid getting slammed into a skyscraper and go flying through some windows.

“Like it’s any of your business, buggy boy!” Green Goblin let out a loud cackle as he continued to try and shake the spider off. “I was just given an opportunity to make sure that people know I’m not about to disappear just because some goody two-shoes decided to show up!”

“So you’re on Luthor’s payroll, then?” Maria called loudly.

Green Goblin suddenly put the winged hoverboard he was flying on in reverse and turned sharply, now flying backwards as he looked at Maria with a crazed grin. The movement forced Spiderman to swing off onto a nearby building and stick to the wall in order to avoid getting slammed into it. “Luthor? My my, doesn’t that name take me back!” He threw back his head and cackled loudly. “And who are you, girlie?”

“The one that happens to not like Luthor very much.” Maria clenched her right fist, summoning her Buster. “And I doubt that you will like me very much after this, either.”

Green Goblin stopped laughing and grinned widely instead. “Well well well. This is certainly going to be interesting! Let’s see what you’ve got then, kid!”

“Bring it on, Joker knock-off.” The insult rolled off Maria’s tongue as an automatic response; her expression remained grim, but there was a spark in her eyes that suggested she was determined to paint herself as much a threat as possible to the villain standing in front of her.

The grin was wiped off Green Goblin’s face in an instant; he drew his hand back and threw a pumpkin-looking object at her.

The pumpkin was met with an orange-colored energy shot from Maria’s buster, causing it to explode between her and her opponent.

“Whoa!” Spiderman yelped from the sidelines.

Maria heard the sound of the Green Goblin’s engines and shifted to infrared and shifted to the side as he rushed through the smoke left behind from the blast. The snarling hiss the man made was enough to tell Maria she had made him angered enough that he wasn’t thinking as much as he normally was.

If he was thinking at all.

“Engaging Green Goblin,” Maria announced over the comms as she charged up another shot. “Spiderman, I could use your help with this.”

 _::Don’t drag the kid into something he isn’t ready for!::_ Stark yelled over the comms. _::Underoos is a kid, don’t--::_

“He’s ready,” Maria replied. “Green Goblin is one of his opponents; remember him or not, physically the age he was in the previous timeline or not, these two are meant to fight at some point. And if the kid doesn’t learn, then when will he?”

Stark muttered something, but he didn’t offer any arguments against Maria’s words.

At the same time, Green Goblin suddenly had another pumpkin bomb ripped out of his grip by Spiderman’s webbing; Maria quickly shot it while it was still in mid-air, causing it to explode behind the crazed lunatic and get a loud screech out of him in response to the explosion.

The shockwave from the blast caused Green Goblin to get thrown forward off his hoverboard. Maria was prepared to deactivate her Buster and grab him, but then another string of webbing shot out as Spiderman swung overhead.

“You’re not going anywhere!”

Maria watched with a passive expression as Spiderman wrapped Green Goblin up and hung him from a nearby flagpole sticking out of a building just as Static flew up to them.

Static blinked blankly at the bat-themed hoverboard that was floating mid-air. “Think Bats would want to have a look at that?”

“Up to him.” Maria shrugged. “It may be bat-themed, but I believe that he will be able to get one of his own that was made for him far easier from any other location.”

“Who’s Bats?” Spiderman spoke up, sticking to the wall above the flag pole. “And what was that? It looked like alien tech or something!”

“To this dimension, perhaps,” Maria replied. “Green Goblin claimed he attacked the lab – most likely because he was angered at Richards buying out his company.” She paused. “Spiderman, did you see anything strange on the back of his neck?”

“The back?” Spiderman shrugged. “Not really?”

“Sensing anything more uneasy about him than normal?”

Spiderman shook his head, which only looked like he was nodding because he was sideways. “He’s just…crazy, I guess. I can’t really get a read on what he’s gonna do next unless it’s obvious.”

“Then his mind isn’t being forced to be orderly; he’s not connected to Brainiac.”

Static let out a sigh of relief.

“Who?” Spiderman frowned.

“A computer virus that likes controlling people like puppets,” Maria explained. “Watch your step around computers – especially ones that start glowing green. I don’t know if your sense will be able to pick up if a computer is malicious or not, but it’s definitely something to keep an eye out for.”

Spiderman seemed confused, but he nodded. “All right, I guess. Thanks for the heads-up. How do you know about this guy?”

“Ran into him once. Didn’t end well for him.” Maria’s mouth quirked up slightly in amusement. “We’ll be in touch through Stark if we need your help again. Just be careful.”

“Aren’t I always?” Spiderman’s tone suggested that it was supposed to be a joking one. As the police sirens got louder below, he raised an arm. “Gotta run – I’ve got some errands to do.”

Seconds later, he was swinging around a building, leaving Maria and Static floating in mid-air on their flying devices.

“Well, that went pretty well,” Static commented.

“…I’m not sure.” Maria frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Green Goblin is too mentally unstable to be considered among Lex’s ‘Light’ group. He’s like the Joker, but with a different costume scheme and with far different origins. They must be using him as muscle or as a decoy to keep us from knowing the exact truth of what they’re up to.” Maria looked down at the struggling cocoon of webbing, then back at Static. “Let’s get back to the tower and see if Gear has dug up anything on what the lab was working on. If that is a dead end as well, we will have to wait for their next move.”

Static didn’t look too happy to hear that, but he nodded and started back towards Stark’s tower in the distance. Maria followed after him.


	17. Chapter 17

“It took some digging, but I think I know what it is that got stolen from the lab that was blown to bits.”

The group of assembled Avengers and guests – minus Virgil and Vision, who were in another room talking to a certain redhead who was running Stark’s business – looked over at Richie as he stood at the entrance to the living room in most of his hero gear.

Richie flicked his fingers, pulling up a holographic display of what looked like a remains of something mechanical. “It’s a ship, meant to hold one passenger, but it doesn’t have any life support or visible controls that they’ve seen. It’s like the whole thing runs on code.”

“So, you’re saying that Vision or Friday would be able to drive this thing?” Stark asked.

“If Friday had a physical body, yes. There are ports in the seat here that are meant to plug the passenger into the ship’s network.” Richie turned the hologram around and focused in on the seat, showing the five ports that went down the middle of the back of the seat.

“What kind of alien doesn’t need to breathe and still has a body?” Clint asked.

“One that isn’t organic,” Maria replied. “That’s built for Brainiac’s android body, I bet.”

“Makes sense.” Matt nodded. “He usually lands somewhere and looks friendly at first before he turns around and starts using people like they’re puppets.”

Maria’s eyes narrowed at Matt’s comment.

“Is this how he did it when he came the first time?” Stark looked over at Bruce.

“First?” Natasha repeated.

“The previous timeline,” Steve explained from behind the couch Maria, Matt, and Bruce were sitting on.

“According to what Superman has told us, this is how he showed himself,” Bruce confirmed. “Brainiac crash-landed near Metropolis and provided Superman with information on his home planet. He took him for benevolent at first, but that perspective changed when Brainiac started doing to Earth what he did to Krypton. He’s been stuck here ever since, and has used Luthor on more than one occasion as a means to the end of everything.”

“Yeesh. Sounds like this guy needs some adjusting,” Clint commented.

“In order to do that, someone would need to understand alien computer languages, and I doubt that people have that kind of knowledge.” Maria folded her arms across her chest. “I also doubt that Brainiac would simply drop his firewalls and let someone poke around. I certainly wouldn’t.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow at Maria’s wording, but before she could get a chance to ask what it was that Maria was talking about, Thor spoke up.

“This goblin you fought against.” Thor’s eyes narrowed. “Are you certain that he wasn’t being controlled?”

“Spiderman said the man’s mind was too chaotic,” Maria replied. “And considering that he has no connections to any businesses that Brainiac might want, I doubt that Brainiac saw any use in controlling Green Goblin directly. His mind is too far gone.”

Thor nodded slightly. “A soldier, then. He could be used to our advantage, turned to go against them somehow.”

“Trying to bargain with someone like that is going to be difficult,” Wayne replied. “And we don’t have enough time to do something like that.”

“Agreed,” Maria said grimly. “Gear, do you have any data on what might have been in the bombs that went off?”

“Well, the police and bomb squads haven’t seen anything like it.” Gear shrugged as the hologram in front of him changed from the ship that was probably Brainiac’s to the blown-up side of the lab. “According to what I _have_ been able to find, most of the smoke that that went up from the blast wasn’t smoke. It was _steam.”_

“Steam?” Stark repeated, blinking. “What kind of bomb sets off _steam_ instead of _smoke?”_

“One that was supposed to be set off underwater, probably. And I did some research, and it looks like the only kind of bomb that exists for that sort of explosion hasn’t been invented yet – by people who live _on land.”_

“You’re suggesting that one of Aquaman’s opponents set the bomb off?” Matt spoke up.

“Aquaman?” Clint repeated. “What kind of name is that?”

“The title of the king of Atlantis,” Maria replied. “I suggest you show Arthur some respect; he can very well sic an orca on you if he wished to.”

Clint blinked at that.

“The only opponent Aquaman has who would be even remotely willing to show his face up here is Black Manta,” Wayne said. “Which means that he has no doubt partnered himself up with the Light and may be controlled by Brainiac as a result.”

“We won’t know that for sure until we find him,” Natasha replied. “What other villains of yours do you think are a part of this circle of villains?”

“Vandal Savage, probably.” Matt frowned. “The man’s practically immortal and used to be a cave man, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to put something into this. Brainiac could be hiding himself and making it look like the Light is a group that’s here for a different purpose entirely, but we won’t be able to know for sure unless we happen to catch up with even one of them.”

“Considering they just took back Brainiac’s ship, I think that they’re going to be making moves of their own soon enough,” Maria replied grimly. “Which will mean possibly drawing them out before they can move forward with their plan when they want to. Brainiac is already going to want to target me because he knows I can’t be controlled; he sees me as a possible threat as a result of my immunity. No doubt he will the same for Virgil when he realizes that we have a walking EMP in our midst.”

“No kidding,” Virgil agreed. “I still remember what happened when he sicced the _Justice League_ on _me_ for trying to get him to stop! I think my bruises had bruises for a week after that!”

Wayne grunted. “Regardless, we know more about Brainiac than he is aware of; we should use that to our advantage.”

“So, what, hit him where it hurts most and take out Luthor’s little operation?” Clint asked with a grin.

“If we do that, then there are people who are going to see that and think the Avengers and the League are insane and have to be stopped,” Wayne replied.

“The League isn’t official yet,” Natasha pointed out casually. “And I’m sure that there are people out there who know about the little rivalry between Superman and Luthor quite well. I honestly doubt that anyone would be surprised if they learned that he had gotten some help from some people who wanted to put a stop to something dangerous that Luthor might have in mind.”

Maria raised an eyebrow at Natasha’s words while Wayne inclined his head.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to go around suggesting that?” Banner spoke up suddenly. “I mean, Luthor has money backing him up.”

“Well, so do we,” Stark said with a grin. “If your parents never end up donating anything to your League fund, I’ll get you started for a little bit.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll be able to handle things for now,” Wayne replied. “I have a large allowance.”

Stark gained an annoyed expression as Matt rolled his eyes, amused.

“I’m not planning on sitting around while there’s a computer virus running around doing who knows what to people.” Clint rose to his feet. “Natasha and I’ll run some reconnaissance on Luthor and see what he’s up to.”

“I’m going with you.” Maria and Virgil rose to their feet at once and exchanged frowns.

“Brainiac already knows about you,” Virgil said to Maria. “You go in there, and he could turn the place into a death trap.”

“I’ve already _been_ in that death trap when the DC world was merged with the universe that Cybertron is a part of,” Maria replied. “At least this time I won’t have Megatron pointing his cannon at me. I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know what Brainiac’s got in there this time!”

“Virgil.” Maria fixed the teenager with her best, Batman-esque glare. “If Brainiac starts to make his move, we’re going to need someone on the outside who can free multiple people at once with an EMP, not one at a time with a stun shot.”

“She’s got a point there,” Richie spoke up, getting a glare from his friend as a result.

“As if I don’t already know that,” Virgil muttered. “Look, if these guys decide to do something about you and knock you out of commission, then we’re really gonna be in a bad place.”

“Are you forgetting what we’ve just lived through?” Maria raised an eyebrow.

“N-no! I…I just don’t think that rushing in there with one or two people who aren’t immune to whatever Brainiac’s doing is a stupid and possibly reckless idea.”

“Are you insinuating something about when Myra and I invaded the Dark Tower and went up to confront the Dark Arms ourselves?”

Virgil spluttered as he attempted to find an answer.

“Dark Arms?” Clint repeated. “Kid, you didn’t face those things from Steve’s nightmares _alone,_ did you?”

“What does it matter? They’re not the problem, Brainiac _is.”_ Maria looked over at Clint and Natasha with a serious spark in her eyes. “If you are going to invade Luthor’s tower, I am coming with you. And even if you aren’t, I am still willing to take that risk.”

“You’re not gonna have me to rescue you this time,” Matt spoke up. “Especially since I’ve got bruised ribs and I can’t get Optimus to open a Ground Bridge to anywhere in this dimension.”

“Why are you talking about that Transformers cartoon that everyone seems to be into?” Banner asked. “It almost sounds like you’re talking about them like they’re real people.”

“They are. Just not in this dimension.” Maria raised an eyebrow at Banner. “If there is a chance that anything can exist, fictional or otherwise, it _will._ Don’t think otherwise.”

Banner blinked a couple times in confused surprise at that, but he didn’t say anything against Maria’s statement.

“Well, if you want to make sure that Luthor is stopped, far be it from me to do anything to stop you,” Natasha said casually. “Two days. And that Superman pal of yours waiting around as backup in case things go south. Which they more than likely will.”

Wayne nodded shortly in agreement.

“Good. You had better be prepared; I don’t want you to slow me down.”

“I won’t,” Maria replied evenly.

**Space Break**

Black Manta circled around the space ship that he had pulled from the lab, looking over every intricate piece of it, frowning.

“You want us to get that goblin out of jail, boss?” asked one of the minions behind him.

“No. He has served his purpose.” Black Manta frowned at the single seat of the vehicle, taking in the ports that ran along the back where the spine of the occupant would be.

“We got the thing for Luthor, right? Do you want to—“

“No. Don’t contact him yet. There is…something about this that does not feel right.” Manta’s eyes narrowed. “Wait and see how things will play out; lay low from the others. There is something he isn’t telling us.”

He looked at the ship again. “Something that plays a large part of his reason to create the Light.”


	18. Chapter 18

Two days later, Maria, Clint, and Natasha were moving across the rooftops of the Metropolis portion of the city on the east coast, heading towards Luthor’s skyscraper in the distance.

“Any idea where I can get one of those?” Clint nodded to the hoverboard Maria was using.

“Ask Richie,” Maria replied. “If he’s willing to, he’ll put something together.”

“What, that kid?”

“He’s a genius. Don’t let his physical age fool you.”

Clint grunted.

Natasha held up a hand, bringing them to a stop close to Luthor’s skyscraper. “You remember the plan?”

Clint and Maria nodded at once.

“Go.”

Natasha and Clint merged into the night, and Maria rose higher and circled around Luthor’s skyscraper from a wide distance, looking for radar and anything else he might have set up to alert him of air traffic in the area. Seeing nothing clearly visible, she moved in closer and landed on top of the building.

The invasion of Luthor’s privacy was going to be far different from the last time she had set foot inside his labs; that much was certain.

Especially since Batman hadn’t managed to make any secret entrances using the sewer system this time.

Maria hovered above the roof by a couple inches, frowning at the helicopter landing pad and looking around before moving towards a vent that led down into the building’s air ducts.

She pulled the grate off without much resistance on the metal’s part, then stepped off her hoverboard. As soon as it was reattached to her back, she shifted out of her armor and swung herself into the grate, feet first.

Clint and Natasha would find their own ways in – they had gone over what building plans they had been able to get their hands on and this was the plan they had agreed on.

And Maria’s part of the plan was not only one of the more dangerous ones, but it was also something that she was used to doing.

Go in with a plan half-baked (in this case, find out Brianiac’s plan and stop it) and make a lot of noise in the process.

The Justice League – those present on Earth – and the Avengers were assembled in various locations around the area waiting for the signal to move in and fulfill their part of the plan. Maria was just the part that would draw Brainiac out into the open.

A part of her thought this was stupid and suicidal. Another part knew that she had literally nothing to fear from the mind controlling capabilities the computer virus had.

So she went in, feet first, and burst through the air vents into the floor below without so much as a change in her determined expression.

Maria landed in a crouch in the middle of a darkened hallway – a business office floor, then. There would be computers here.

_::Kid you’re lucky I got to the alarm system, because that would have set hell’s hounds on your--::_

“I know,” Maria replied. She looked around, then started making her way through the cubicles and office desks, frowning. “I’m on the wrong floor to be looking for the information we need.”

_::Yeah, no kidding. Look, kid, you’re gonna need to either go up a floor or down a floor, if you want to find a port directly into the database. I’m already playing lookout; don’t make me come down there and tell you where you have to go::_

_::Hawkeye don’t clutter up the comm with chatter. Now’s not the time for a lesson::_

Maria snorted at Black Widow’s comment, but she didn’t add anything when she heard Hawkeye’s muttering over the comms. Her eyes moved along the cubicles instead, focused on finding a computer that would give her near-complete access to what she was looking for.

She was a few cubicles from the elevator when she ran into her first physical obstacle.

The green, humanoid-ish Star Wars-looking droid moved out from behind one cubicle as Maria dove into another one before it could turn its head to look in her direction. She tapped her ear and changed her comm from vocal transmissions to more text-based thoughts.

_::The security up here is in droids. Luthor’s been doing some upgrades::_

Maria heard Hawkeye swear on the other end of the comms.

 _::What kind?::_ At least Black Widow was keeping a level head.

_::Looks like Star Wars prequel cannon fodder::_

_::Seriously? Those ones aren’t even the good ones!::_

_::Hawkeye, why haven’t you disabled them?::_ Black Widow was starting to sound just a little bit annoyed.

_::They’re not coming up on the security system down here – they must be running on a separate circuit::_

_::Considering this one is green, I can guess what sort of circuit it is on::_ Maria moved under the desk as the droid moved past, swinging its head from side to side every few steps. _::I don’t know what Brainiac’s programmed these things with. They could be motion-sensor capable, or voice-sensor. And me taking out one is going to alert every other one that’s in this building, most likely::_

 _::Great::_ Hawkeye didn’t sound the least bit pleased. _::More work to worry about::_

_::Half-baked plans are my deal, Hawkeye; Brainiac most likely knows we are doing something with the security systems of this place by now. Watch your backs. I’m going to make a little noise::_

_::I hope you know what you’re doing, kid::_

_::I do::_

Maria poked her head out from the cubicle and looked around. Not seeing the droid anywhere in sight, she made a beeline for the elevator and started forcing the doors open.

The loud _shriek_ of metal that followed made Maria slow down for only a second, but that amount of time was all the droid on the floor needed to zero in on her location from across the room and start towards her at a fast pace. Maria could hear the droid’s feet slamming against the carpet, and she turned, shifted to her armor, and fired a Stun Shot as it started to raise its own gun at her.

_Brrzzzzt!_

Electricity sparked from the thing’s limbs, and the droid collapsed with the whining sound of something powering down. It lay on the floor, smoking and unmoving.

 _::Let the games begin::_ Maria thought dryly as she pulled the elevator doors the rest of the way open. She leapt into the elevator shaft and activated her hoverboard before she could fall too far.

_::Holy—kid, you just lit up the security system like nobody’s business! I’m locked out! Widow, we gotta--::_

_::I know. Contact the others; have them set up a perimeter. Now!::_

Maria ignored the two of them as she hovered in the elevator shaft, considering. Then she started moving down.

 _According to Matt, Luthor’s office had been in the center of the building – at least, the one he and Joshua had found. I would not be surprised if he normally accepts appointments in an office at the_ top _of the building._

_So he keeps his sensitive information in a location people would not normally be able to reach. Joshua is an excellent hacker; he knew what to do in order to get into Luthor’s most personal space._

_I shall just have to find a different way in._

The cables in the center of the shaft started whining loudly; something was coming up fast. Maria turned her attention to the nearest set of elevator doors and shot over to them and started prying them open.

She just barely managed to make it through a crack in the doors before the elevator rushed up past her and towards the top of the tower.

“Either he’s getting guests or he was aiming to kill me,” Maria muttered. She snorted. “Not likely.”

The floor was another business office, but there were more droids wandering around, weapons in hand. There was a red glint in their optical sensors too – one that the one Maria had destroyed hadn’t had.

They were aware there was an intruder and were now actively looking for her.

Maria mentally ran through her options, then smirked darkly and activated something that she hadn’t made use of since the World Collision.

Her Light Refractor, a gift from Dr. Light after her initial transformation from human to Reploid, activated. In an instant, she was gone from the visible light spectrum and was moving around practically unseen by the droids that manned this particular floor.

Maria knew there had to be more than one elevator in this place somewhere. Actually _getting_ to that elevator, however, was another matter entirely – especially when there was a small squadron sharing the floor with her.

Getting past them was going to be interesting.

Maria moved forward quickly and low to the ground, watching the droid’s movements and making sure not to possibly bump into them as she moved from cubicle to cubicle. She wasn’t about to risk activating her hoverboard because the sound of moving air might draw unwanted attention, so moving on foot and occasionally climbing up on desks to check her position in relation to the rest of the floor was really the best she could do.

Eventually, she reached another elevator at the other side of the floor, having managed to avoid the droids with an immense sense of satisfaction on Maria’s part.

But that satisfied grin faded rather quickly when she reached the closed elevator doors.

They would screech open, and when they do, she would get all of their attention.

Maria dropped the Refractor and charged up as the droids turned and looked in her direction.

“Hey, Brainiac!” Maria snapped. “Remember this? White Flare: Fire Spark!”

The resulting shockwave of white-yellow energy hit all the droids at once, sending them flying back into walls and each other, causing small explosions as a result of the electricity. When the smoke cleared, the drones were all knocked out on the ground, clearly out of commission.

Maria nodded in satisfaction, then turned and started to pull the doors open.

Much to her surprise, they slid apart easily, revealing not the shaft, but the carriage of the elevator inside.

Maria’s eyes narrowed. “Brainiac’s sent me an elevator. I think he plans to bring me into a trap.”

 _::Well, considering that you’ve been springing them every few floors I’m not surprised::_ Hawkeye muttered in reply. _::What are you gonna do, kid?::_

“What do you think? He’s giving me passage directly into the heart of operations, or thinks he can kill me by slamming the elevator up or down the shaft. He’s seen what I can do to his droids. He’s seen what I can do to his programming. Now, it’s simply a matter of whether or not he wants to still attempt and use me or force me out of his way.”

Maria grinned darkly. “So let’s see what this crazed virus is up to.”

And with that, she walked into the elevator, stood in the center of the carriage, and folded her arms across her chest.

The doors closed – and at the same time, a burst of static ran through her ears, causing her to wince slightly.

 _Comms down_ blinked red in one corner of her vision.

Maria grunted. “No extra ears. Of course not.”

One of the buttons on the carriage’s level console started glowing a dull green; Maria eyed it as the elevator started going down.

The triangular symbol with the circles at its points looked like it had been added recently.

Maria smiled dryly. “Straight to the lion’s den, huh? We’ll see whose favor that works in.”


	19. Chapter 19

The elevator, as it turned out, did _not_ send Maria crashing to her death by being slammed straight to the top floor or the basement level of the building. It was a very smooth, simple ride all the way down to the deepest level of the building, which Maria took without so much as a word of protest.

At the back of her mind, however, she was thinking about what could be waiting, and what she could still yet do.

Considering that Brainiac seemed to think he had the upper hand and didn’t know everything that Maria was capable of, there were still a _lot_ of cards left in her hand to play.

She had only revealed that she was Reploid and had one kind of energy shot in her Buster, as well as one particular kind of “special” attack that had nothing to do with said Buster. Which left her with a lot of open room when it came to what she could do in a fight against Luthor or Brainiac.

Or both, depending on how things played out.

Maria opened her eyes as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened smoothly. Her eyes grew narrow and determined, and she strode out of the elevator and into what looked like a conference room. There were no chairs lining the table in the center of the room, but there were dark monitors hanging from the circular wall. It didn’t appear as though they were going to be turning on anytime soon.

And on the other side of the room stood Luthor, looking like he hadn’t showered in _days_ and with a green glow to his eyes that Maria could see with unusual clarity.

“Brainiac,” Maria said stiffly. She remained where she was, just outside the elevator. It closed quietly behind her; there would be no going back now. “I had expected that you would be possessing Luthor, considering his easy access to resources that you would not be able to find in most other humans here on Earth.”

Luthor’s body smiled wryly. “I am at a disadvantage. You know of me, but I do not know of you.”

“You can call me Flare-Up,” Maria replied. “It is enough of a name that you will get my attention, but you will not know my past.”

Luthor inclined his head, smile dropping. “What makes you think I have an interest in that?”

“You’ve let me into your inner sanctum without taking any visible precautions on the previous floors with me.” Maria paused, considering. “Or, what precautions you did take weren’t quite enough to cause me to stall for long. You’ve been testing me in this building, trying to see if I have a possible weakness.”

There was a green flash in Luthor’s eyes again; Maria took that as a sign that she was hitting closer to the mark than Brainiac was expecting.

“And what do you think I would have found, through this ‘testing’?” Brainiac asked. Luthor’s voice sounded much more flat now.

“I’m a possible threat.” Maria shrugged one shoulder. “I am capable of stopping your droids with some effort; I am quick-thinking, I have technology that you probably weren’t expecting me to have. Am I missing anything?”

“You are arrogant for a little droid.”

“Android,” Maria corrected. “And that’s the last freebie I’m giving you. Let Luthor go and stop this plan of yours before you find yourself doing something you regret.”

“I would regret stopping. My goal is to—“

“Collect the knowledge of the universe, I know. But what use will it be if you don’t share that knowledge with someone?” Maria raised an eyebrow.

Brainiac didn’t answer.

“There is a flaw in your pre-programmed logic.”

“I do not have flaws.”

“You have flaws because your creators had flaws.”

“Then what of you? Did your creators have flaws?”

“Of course; they were only human. The only beings who can say they do not have flaws are the truly divine, and they are not going to come down to us to make a perfect mechanical being just for the sake of proving such a thing exists.” Maria wasn’t so much as batting an eye at this; Brainiac, on the other hand, looked like he was starting to lose a little of his composure.

Luthor’s body visibly straightened, expression going slack from the annoyed expression that he’d had a moment before. “You provide an interesting puzzle to consider. I shall think on it as I download this world’s data.”

“No. You will think on it and _not_ download this world into your databanks.” Maria started crossing the room with calm, even strides. “You are robbing people of their lives, their livelihood, and their free will. I will not stand by and allow you to do such things.”

“What makes you think that you can stop me?” Brainiac replied. “I am one with this system; it is to become my ship to the next world. If you do not stop me here, I am going to ensure that I will have a chance to study you and your abilities. You have shown me everything that you are capable of.”

“I have not.” Maria’s eyes sparked a brighter blue. “There is more to me than you have seen, and far more than some would say is physically impossible to be capable of.”

Brainiac frowned at that. “You are speaking in circles. Your logic programming is flawed.”

“No; I’m thinking just fine.” Fire sparked on Maria’s fingertips as she drew near Brainiac’s organic puppet. “You simply cannot follow because you do not have what I know.”

Oddly enough, he didn’t see the Fire Spark coming.

Luthor let out a shriek of pain as he was thrown back into the wall next to the door that had been behind him; Maria could see smoke rising from the device that Brainiac had used to manipulate and use him, then turned her attention to the room around her as an alarm started going off.

Luthor groaned; Maria turned to look at him as he looked up in confusion.

“What—“

“Get out of here,” Maria said. “Quickly!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, feeling the distinct buzz of energy pass through them as his memory of the world before the World Collision rammed into his mind. “Brainiac is making his move now, and I doubt you want to be here when everything comes to a head.”

Luthor stared at Maria with wide eyes, then nodded quickly and scrambled towards the elevator as Maria made her way into the next room.

**Space Break**

“You have _got_ to be kidding me,” Hawkeye said flatly. “He turned that entire damn skyscraper into a _spaceship?”_

“Not at all surprising,” Static said from where he was crouching next to the archer. “I mean, he basically did the same thing in Dakota by building his machine in a warehouse. He probably did _something_ to the building while he was stuck in it.”

“We’ve got to shut it down.” Gear looked up from the hard light touch screen he was working on. “No one’s been able to get into contact with Maria yet?”

 _::Negative::_ Batman growled in reply. _::Brainiac has a jamming signal up in the building somewhere; it’s making it difficult to find her, much less get a signal through::_

“Great,” Hawkeye groused. “So, what, we have to wait for her to shut this thing down?”

_::No::_

“Well, what—“

A red and blue blur shot over their heads suddenly, shortly followed by a blast of wind that nearly knocked Static’s mask off.

“Hey!” Static quickly pulled the mask back over his face properly as Superman started circling Luthor’s skyscraper.

_::Superman will slow it down long enough for us to do something about it here. Static, how strong of an EMP can you consciously release?::_

“…a pretty strong one? I dunno; I’ve never measured it on any sort of scale!”

_::We’re about to. Superman can only hold it for so long; shut the whole thing down if you can::_

“But what about Maria?” Gear spoke up. “She’s gonna be affected by this too if she’s still in the building!”

_::She’ll be fine. We’ll find her later. Get moving!::_

**Space Break**

Maria was not the least bit surprised to find that the next room was a lab full of Braniac’s influence and Luthor’s technology. Considering what had been waiting for her on the previous floors and how Brainiac had been using Luthor, it would only make sense that the center of Brainiac’s operations would practically scream his presence.

“You’ve been working on putting this together for a long time,” Maria commented with an indifferent expression. “Since you crash-landed on Earth, I suspect. A year? Half of one?”

 _::Two of your years::_ came Brainiac’s electronic voice from all the consoles at once. _::I was found by a human who called himself Osborn; he was of little use to me, with his medicinal and genetic technologies. All his knowledge provided me was a way to more efficiently gain control of a human mind. The initial attempt ended in disaster, but when I was found later by the human who called himself Luthor, then I had the tools that I required::_

“I take it then that you’re possibly part of the reason that Osborn went insane and turned into the Green Goblin.”

_::Perhaps. The human mind is a terribly fragile thing, unlike the minds of you and I::_

“I am not like you.”

_::No. You inhabit one body. I inhabit several::_

Maria turned as a hidden door opened; a droid similar to the ones she had run into earlier stepped out of the shadows.

“Your physical design is unfamiliar,” said the droid in Brainiac’s monotone. “I would like to study it; see how you are made. Perhaps some improvements can be made to my own design.”

“I do not give away this knowledge freely.” Maria started to charge up her Buster. “Nor do I plan to give it to you.”

“As I have surmised from your behavior. But that will not stop me from obtaining the knowledge that I require.”

The droid started moving forward.

Maria shot a hole in it with a Charged Buster Shot, leaving a large scorch mark on the computer console behind it as it collapsed.

“Where’s your central hub?” Maria asked, looking around. “You may inhabit several bodies, but it’s a hive mind, not exact copies of you. You’re all connected together in a network.”

Her gaze settled on something in the center of the room: a large furnace-looking computer with bundles of cables branching off in all directions towards other computers that were scattered about the lab.

“Because there _is_ something that I’d like to share with you, virus.”

_::And what is that? If it is the knowledge that you can cause humans to momentarily freeze up from a data overload, know that I will suffer no such fate::_

“It’s not so much an act of freezing up as it is an act of remembering.” Maria strode towards the central hub, watching as more droids started to pop out from the shadows. “Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: a virus decides he wants to take control of two planets of information at once. In the process, he comes across a being that he has never heard of, much less found proof of her existence. In attempting to gain control over her, he finds that there are some boundaries you simply do not overstep.”

Maria put her hand on the computer console as the droids in the room started to approach her at a quicker pace.

“And in the process finds that there is at least _one_ thing that the virus cannot control, and that quickly spreads through to everything else he might have been able to do.”

Maria’s hand was glowing white as it came into contact with the console.

The resulting pass of energy that went from her into Brainiac’s network was strong enough that it threw Maria back into the droids as they spasmed and collapsed at once.

And Brainiac _screamed_ as the room started to shake even more than it had been; Maria stumbled to her feet and had difficulty finding her footing as she made her way out of the lab and back into the conference room, with its sparking monitors.

Maria would have made an attempt to reach the elevator and find a way up to the floors above were it not for the fact that there was suddenly a bright flash of purple, and everything went dark.


	20. Chapter 20

Maria awoke to find herself lying on something that felt like a hospital bed. She frowned, then turned her focus away from the ceiling and looked around the room as text ran across her vision – the results of an automatic self-diagnosis.

_Forced stasis lock from electromagnetic pulse (EMP): ten hours. Energy levels: 100 percent. Systems functioning normally._

Maria grunted and pushed herself up to a sitting position, frowning when she found herself in a rather simple room. “This had better be in Stark Tower or somewhere similar, because otherwise I am going to be having _words_ with a few people.”

She was starting to get off the bed when the door opened, and a rather familiar young man stepped inside with a grim look. His expression changed to something similar to relief moments later.

“Thought I’d get here as soon as you were getting up,” the dark-haired young man said knowingly. “Have a good nap, Flare-Up?”

“Could have gone better without the rather sudden whack to the head I got,” Maria replied. “Who told Static to set off an EMP, Nightwing?”

“Blame Batman for that one.” Nightwing shrugged, smirking. “I mean, it was a pretty good idea to make sure that Luthor’s tower didn’t take off to space with you inside it.”

Maria grunted. She swung her legs off the bed and moved to stand on her own feet. “Perhaps. What about Brainiac?”

“Same state as he was the last time you and him crossed paths. Luthor’s psychologically traumatized, though – I think he’s looking into getting a therapist or something to work off what Brainiac did to him. That virus really did a number on him this time.”

“He’d taken control of his body directly; who knows what else that virus did to his mind?” Maria grumbled in reply. “I assume we’re in Stark’s Tower?”

“Yeah. He didn’t know where else to put you, so he just dropped you in the infirmary until you woke up. Which he’s probably been told about by now.” Nightwing looked up at the ceiling with a knowing expression.

Maria nodded. “Right.” She started for the door. “How is the rest of the world taking this?”

“Well, considering that Luthor’s tower just collapsed and Superman dug you and Brainiac out of the rubble and found Luthor himself in a nearby alley with a terrified look on his face, mostly confused and terrified. Which is to be expected. At least we’re not going to have to deal with that monster running around and making people even more terrified.”

Maria grunted in agreement with Nightwing’s statement as they made their way into the living room; Matt, Virgil, Richie, and Wayne were already there.

Matt looked up as they entered the room and grinned. “Hey, sis. Everything settled?”

“As far as I’m aware.” Maria shrugged one shoulder. “And you?”

“Well, my ribs aren’t quite feeling as bad, and Stark’s worked out an excuse for the others to be able to hang out here without their parents going bonkers.”

“Secret interns,” Richie said with a smug grin. He and Virgil exchanged fist bumps while the Wayne rolled his eyes.

“Just to make sure that we can work with Stark on putting together a proper League headquarters,” Wayne said. “When it’s set up, the internship is terminated.”

Nightwing nodded, then looked over at Maria with a knowing grin. “We’re doing the same age split that we had last time, but I’m tempted to split it into three groups instead of two so that Bats doesn’t get too annoyed with being thrown in with the rookies.”

“He’s got the body of a teenager, let him deal with it,” Matt called over.

“Uh, dude? If you didn’t have bruised ribs, you’d so be dead.” Richie looked over at Wayne, who looked like he was starting to pull one of his signature glares on Matt.

Matt wasn’t the least bit phased. “He put Grayson in with them at first.”

“I wasn’t a man in a teenager’s body,” Nightwing pointed out.

“…good point.” Matt adjusted his position on the couch as Wayne’s expression went to a more neutral one. “So, no more big problems that Maria or I should have to stick around for. We might as well say some quick good-byes and head back home, then. I know I’ve got a lot of catching up to do when I get back.”

“That’s an understatement,” Maria said dryly.

“What, you’re heading out?”

Maria turned at the voice and caught sight of Steve standing in the doorway.

“There’s nothing else that I’m needed for here.” Maria shrugged. “Brainiac has been managed, and my brother has been found. I need to go home before my presence becomes the cause of more changes to the timeline.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Considering what you’ve done to Brainiac and the rest of us, I wonder if there _isn’t_ anything else you can change in the timeline.”

“I’d rather not find out.”

Steve considered that, then nodded. “Stark’s out having a meeting with Bruce’s parents. Something about settling a few things before they make anything official. I’m still waiting to hear back from Fury.”

“You’ll be back out there again. Eventually.”

Steve snorted. “That I don’t doubt.” He paused, then looked at Maria with a concerned expression. “You think we’re gonna run into the kids again?”

“Likely.” Maria shrugged. “They are an alternate future of this timeline. Keep an eye out, and if they don’t remember what happened before…it might be better that way.”

Steve considered that, then nodded. “No kid should have to live through what we did.”

“You got that right,” Richie muttered. He looked over at Matt and grinned. “See you around then, right? If you can swing by again, you definitely should.”

“I’ll see if I can,” Matt replied with a laugh.

“You’re welcome anytime here,” Steve said. “I hope you know that.”

Maria nodded. She looked over at Nightwing. “It’s good to see you again, even if it’s after everything’s already happened.”

“Same,” Nightwing replied. “Do you know if everyone else made it out all right?”

Maria shook her head. “This is the first world I’ve been to that’s post-Shift. If I run into more I’ll make sure that the people we know are doing all right in them, whether they have their memories back or not.”

“Think you’re going to do for them what you did for us?”

“I don’t know. Maybe if it needs to be done.”

Nightwing nodded. “Sounds fair.”

“Hey – tell Stark that he needs to lighten up on the champagne a bit,” Matt said with a grin as Maria moved into the center of the room. “And tell Hal Jordan – if you see him – that he definitely shouldn’t take what he’s got in his imagination for granted. Got it?”

Nightwing gave a thumbs-up in response.

Maria snapped her fingers, summoning a bright blue, circular portal. Matt pushed himself off the couch and up to his feet. “Sparkseer’s gonna be glad you’re all right.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Matt grinned at Maria, then nodded over at the others before striding through the portal. Maria quickly followed after him.

As the portal closed behind them, Richie and Virgil exchanged looks.

“Think they’re ever gonna come back?” Richie asked.

Virgil shrugged. “If they do, it’s gonna have to be for something big.”

Vision flew in through the wall next to the elevator. “It seems that Earth is getting a few visitors. Considering the planet they are hailing from, I thought you would like to know, Bruce.”

Bruce looked at the AI that used to run Stark’s computer systems. He nodded. “Nightwing, we have a few old new friends to meet.”

“Yup.” Nightwing grinned. “Connor’s gonna be so glad to see his girlfriend again. I wonder if she remembers things on her own.”

“Only one way to find out!” Richie shot back with a grin. “Let’s go!”


End file.
